Educating Sirius
by unopeneddoors
Summary: Sirius Black had never met Rae Johnson until that fateful day in November. One things for sure,he never expected to find himself falling in love with a shy, quiet and extremely smart girl. Now Slughorn wants her to tutor him, what will happen? PLZ REVIEW!
1. Slughorn's request

Sirius Black had never met Rae Johnson until that fateful day in November when Severus Snape had spiked his potion, causing messy gunk to splatter the walls and floors of the potions room. Slughorn hadn't believed him of course and Sirius had been held back for an hour cleaning up the mess he was supposed to have made.

Sirius, tired and aching from all the scrubbing, threw the brush back into the bucket of soapy water and trudged back to Slughorn's office.

"I'm done professor…" He groaned, leaning heavily against the large wooden door, not bothering to stand up properly.

"Oh ho! Jolly good Sirius m'boy!" Slughorn said happily, heaving his podgy body out of his chair, "I was just thinking to myself, before you walked through that door in fact, just how much you'd benefit from extra potions lessons you know…"  
Sirius groaned, "I'm fine with potions professor. It was Snivell-Severus who put the dragon scales in-"

"Sirius, my boy, will this confrontation with young Severus ever end?" Slughorn said shaking his head.

"But professor-"

"Now now Sirius I know that you and Severus have differences but that does not escape the fact that you need help with potions my boy…"  
"But I'm fine! Honestly I am!"  
"Mr Potter is quite a distraction Sirius. It would make me feel much better if you let me pair you up with someone else."

"But-"

"Sirius your NEWT's are coming up soon. How do you ever expect to be an auror with a low grade in potions?"  
"I…"  
Slughorn stared Sirius down and Sirius could fight the issue no longer.

"Yes sir…" He said sulkily.

"That's my boy…" He said, slamming a podgy hand against Sirius' shoulder in some form of friendly gesture. Slughorn moved back to his desk and took a seat, rummaging through all sorts of folders until he came across a rather crumpled piece of paper. He gestured to the seat opposite his desk and Sirius took it less than willingly.

"Righto…I have three outstanding students in my potions class for you to choose form Mr Black…hmmm…it seems as though you have made quite an impression on two of them already my boy," Slughorn chuckled, "But don't fret, I wont have you with young Miss Evans or Severus, I want you to be able to concentrate…"  
"Oh please don't put me with Frank Longbottom…" Sirius whispered under his breath.

"Oh good heavens no! I want you to be alive to do you're NEWT's," Slughorn chuckled, "Ahh here we are. How well do you know Miss Johnson?"  
"Johnson? I don't know a Johnson…are you sure you've got the right seating plan?" Sirius asked.

"No, no my boy, Miss Johnson has been in our class ever since first year!"  
"What's her first name?"  
"Rae…Rae Johnson…quite pleasant wouldn't you say?"  
"I guess…" Sirius shrugged, "It would be even more pleasant if I knew who she was…"  
"You honestly haven't met Miss Johnson? Sweet girl, extremely quiet though…"  
"Well there you have it," Sirius grinned, "The people I get along with are nowhere near quiet."  
"Well then she will be a perfect example for you," Slughorn beamed, filing away the seating plan.

Sirius sighed and leant over Slughorn's desk in an effort to make one last attempt.

"Look sir, I really don't need extra lessons or a new partner. I'm fine the way I am. I can study in my own time. All it takes is for Snivell-Severus to be moved and there will be no more mistakes-"

"Sirius my boy Severus Snape is one of my best students! Why should I want to move him? Like I have said before I understand that you have your differences but I expect you to put them behind you for your NEWT's…can you do that for me Sirius?"  
"Yes Professor…" Sirius grumbled.

"Now then, I understand that I have deprived you of your dinner for quite enough. I'm sure you must be ravenous!" Slughorn beamed, "Off you go now Sirius! The new arrangement will start tomorrow…oh and tell Miss Evans that you are very sorry for stealing her lab partner and tell her that she has now been assigned to James Potter…"  
Sirius stood with a smile.

"Sure…night professor…"  
"Good night my boy…"  
Sirius left the potions room and the dungeons with a wide grin on his face.

Even if this Rae Johnson turned out to be a real drag it would be worth it just to watch Lily and James every lesson.

_**Authors note:**_ Ok so I just randomly got this idea in my head and thought I'd write it to see how well it turns out. I'd LOVE to know what you think so PLEASE review. This is just the intro so the chapters will hopefully be longer next time XD xxxx


	2. The good news

Sirius entered the great hall full of buzzing students after hard days work. Sirius found James' messy matt of hair amongst the crowded Griffindoor table and placed himself between him and Peter.

"Hello stranger," Sirius winked in James direction as he sat down.

"Did Slughorn lay into you then?" James asked after swallowing a spoonful of stew.

"Ha! Don't joke!" Sirius chuckled, "Although maybe it would have been better…"  
"How come?" Peter asked through a mouthful of potato.

"He's stuck me with some goody two shoes for extra potions tuition," Sirius groaned, pulling a plate towards him.

"Ouch…" James squinted, "Did you tell him where to stick it?"  
"I tried but he wouldn't have it." Sirius said, spooning stew onto his plate, "Anyway, I'm gonna need it if I want to be an auror."  
"True…" Remus piped up opposite him, "And anyway it wont be that bad…unless he's put you with Severus…"  
"Ha! No…thankfully Slughorn understands how much of a joke that would be…"

Sirius piled some potatoes onto his plate and began to tuck in to his long awaited dinner.

"Oh yea…" He said after his first mouthful, barely able to keep it in with the grin on his face, "I have some excellent news for you Prongs my friend…"  
"Oh yea?"  
"Yea…I've taken Lily Evans partner…"  
"So?" James asked looking rather confused.

"Guess who her new partners going to be?" Sirius said, his grin spreading fast over his handsome face. James continued to look confused for a moment longer until his own grin spread rapidly across his face.

"Really? Are you serious?"  
"Mhm…I guess it works out both ways for Slughorn," Sirius said, spooning in another mouthful, "This way I get extra tuition and my 'distraction' gets put with his best student in the hope of taming the beast."  
James laughed loudly.

"Fat chance of that!"  
"Unless…" Sirius said thoughtfully, "Slughorn's noticed something we haven't…"

"Come again Padfoot?" James asked.

"What if, because Lily's one of his best students, he's noticed her acting weird?"  
Sirius flashed James a crooked smile and a raised eyebrow.

"Care to elaborate?" James asked after the pause.

"Well what if he's noticed Evans staring at you or something…and he's doing her a favour because he's noticed how much she _**longs**_ for you?" Sirius said dramatically.

Remus laughed and shook his head.

"Shut up…" James grinned, punching Sirius on the shoulder.

"Sirius might be right though…" Peter said, "She does look at you an awful lot."  
"Yes…in disgust…" Remus chuckled.

"Well after a few hours within touching distance of _**James Potter**_ she wont be able to resist." James said with a wink.

The boys chuckled and continued to shove hot stew into their empty stomachs.

"So…" Remus asked after a while, "Did Slughorn tell you who you're going to be put with?"  
"Yea…" Sirius said rolling his eyes, "Rae Johnson anyone?"  
"Oh I know her…" Peter said, "She's that Ravenclaw that always sits at the back."  
"Oh God…she's going to be one of those non-talkers isn't she?"  
"Probably…" James shrugged, "I've never spoken to her."

"I have…once…" Remus said.

"Yea?" Sirius said looking up from his plate, "What's she like?"  
"Well…I didn't get much," Remus frowned, clearly trying to remember, "I took her Herbology book by mistake and gave it back to her. All I really got was a 'Hi' a 'thanks' and a 'bye'…"  
"Yep, definitely a non-talker." James grinned, "Sorry Padfoot mate."

Suddenly his eyes re-focused behind Sirius and all his attention went to the red head a few seats away.

"Oi Evans!" He called out.

The red head turned to face him. Upon seeing who had called her name, she rolled her vibrant green eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

"What do you want Potter?" She spat, stabbing at a potato.  
"Call me James, Evans…after all…we _**are**_ a couple now…"  
"What are you on about?" She said looking rather disgusted, "Since when did I agree to becoming your piece of meat?"  
"Haven't you heard Lilykins?" James grinned, "Sirius has stolen your partner and now you're mine…"  
Lily's eyes widened at his words.

"You are joking aren't you Potter?"  
"Of course not Lilyflower. From now on it's just you, me, and nothing but a cauldron between us."  
"Not if I complain to Slughorn about it!" She scowled, "If I'm unhappy with it he'll just put Sirius with someone else!"  
"Fat chance of that Lily." Sirius said faking a deeply sympathetic look, "Slughorn wants me with one of his best students and seeing as two of those three are you and Snivellus, Johnson's the only suitable one. Sorry."  
Lily narrowed her eyes and let out yet another heavy sigh.

"Fine," She said through gritted teeth, "But if you dare-!"  
"Aww come on Lilypetal…" James said gently, sarcastically sticking out his bottom lip, "I know you like me. Why wont you just admit it? Go on Evans…go out with me…"  
James pulled his typical puppy dog look and stuck his lip out further.

"I mean it Potter! If you don't stop with these ridiculous pet names, stupid chat up lines and requests to snog me EVERY. Single. Day. I _**will**_ castrate you!"  
"Ouch…" Sirius winced, absentmindedly placing a hand on his manhood.

"Evans, the things you say really hurt you know…" James said, placing a hand on his heart, "All I've ever done is love you and yet you threaten to destroy my manhood. Think of the children we'll never have Evans! Poor little Harry!"  
"Potter lets get one thing straight, I will NEVER have children with you…_**especially**_ if that child is called Harry!"

"What's wrong with the name Harry?"  
"YOU came up with it!" She snapped, picking up her books and leaving the table.

James watched her leave with a look of pure longing on his face. Suddenly he caught Sirius' grin and returned to his stew.

"She wants me really…" James shrugged, though there was a dejected tone in his voice.

"Right…" Remus smiled, pouring himself some pumpkin juice.

In the meantime James pulled out his timetable and glanced at tomorrows lessons.

"Score!" He said suddenly, "Potions tomorrow!"

"Good for you…" Sirius groaned.

"Oh come on Sirius…she's not that bad…" Remus said, "I would think she's more worried about sitting next to you…petrified even."  
"That just makes it worse…" He sighed, "Her chances of talking will be reduced to zero…"  
"Still…it means you'll learn more like Slughorn hoped," Remus beamed.

"That's what I'm afraid of…"


	3. First glance

"Sirius…Sirius…SIRIUS!"  
"WHAT?"  
"Get up!"  
Sirius opened an eye by a tiny fraction to see a fully dressed Remus Lupin standing over him with a glass of water.

"If you don't I'll do it again…"

Sirius groaned and lifted his torso, leaning on his elbows.

"Im uuuup…." He moaned, his voice thick with sleep, squinting to see James fast asleep in the bed beside him, "How come he gets to wake up last?"

"Because you're more of an effort," Remus smiled, making his way towards James, putting the glass of water on the bedside table.

Sirius pulled himself up out of bed and rubbed his eyes. He opened his trunk and pulled out the first pair of robes he saw.

"I'm gonna go grab a shower…" He said as Remus shook James harder.

Remus nodded just as James shoved his hand off of his shoulder and rolled over. Sirius chuckled and made his way towards the showers.

After having washed and dressed, he made his way down to the great hall and slumped down beside James.

"Morning star shine…" He said grabbing a piece of toast.

"Mmmm…" James groaned, not bothering to finish the sentence.

"I just don't understand how you two can stay in bed until mid-afternoon…" Remus said shaking his head.

"Easily." Sirius said, pouring himself some pumpkin juice.

"What have we got?" James asked. Remus pulled out his timetable as Peter joined them, sitting beside Remus.

"Potions…"

The other three groaned in unison.

"Oh no wait!" James said suddenly, "I'm sitting with Evans now!"  
"Lucky you…" Sirius grumbled as Peter placed his forehead on his crossed arms.

"Oh yea…you have to sit with the quiet girl…" James said sympathetically.

"She has a name…" Remus said shaking his head.

Suddenly the morning post swooped in, dropping here and there into the students open arms. A speckled owl swooped down and dropped the new edition of the Daily Prophet above their heads. The boys laughed as it hit a sleeping Peter on the head, causing him to jump up and knock his pumpkin juice over.

"You erm…got a little something…" Sirius laughed as Peter reached up and wiped the butter from his forehead.

Remus pulled open the Daily Prophet and began to flick through it.

"Hey Wormy…" Sirius said, "You've seen her before…is she at the Ravenclaw table now?"  
"Who?" Peter blinked.

"Johnson you troll!" Sirius said, "Whack him with the prophet will you Moony?"  
Remus just grinned as James chuckled to himself.

"Erm…" Peter said pulling himself up a little, "That one…"  
Sirius turned to where Peter had indicated to see a rather attractive blonde laughing and giggling with her friends.

"Looks like potions won't be that bad after all," Sirius smiled, "Do you know I rather like blondes…"  
"Blondes?" Peter asked looking quite confused, "No not that one! Her!"

Sirius turned to look at the Ravenclaw table again to see a brunette flicking through her own edition of the Daily Prophet. Her dark hair reached her waist and her eyes were of a dark green. She was quite tiny in size; she must have reached a tiny bit under Sirius' shoulder. She would have been sitting on her own if it weren't for the snowy owl that sat dutifully by her side. She petted it with soft delicate strokes of her fingertips.

"Ohhh…" Sirius groaned quietly, "She looks like a right weirdo…"  
"No she doesn't…" James said, "But she looks like she could _**be**_ one…"

"What's the difference?" Sirius laughed.

"Well she doesn't look weird…but she looks like she could _**be **_weird…" James said, squinting to get a better look, "At least you wont get bored…"

"She's one of his best students…she must be a right goody two shoes…"  
Suddenly her eyes left the Prophet and straight into Sirius'. She blushed and tucked a dark strand of hair behind her ear before lifting the Prophet higher, concealing her face.

"Mmmm…" James said, "She does seem pretty shy alright…"  
"Yeah she is." Remus said, "She didn't really seem to speak to Lily either when she was her partner."  
Obviously still sensing their stare Rae Johnson stood up and pulled her bag onto her shoulder. The bird hopped up onto the strap and she walked out of the hall fast paced, hiding behind her hair.

"Well she's interesting I'll give you that…" James laughed. Once again Sirius found James eyes wandering a few seats behind him. He grinned as he watched his friend's expression change completely; he knew exactly who he was looking at.

"Oh hold up…" James said standing up, "Evans! Oi Evans!"  
"What?" Came the angry call of none other than Lily Evans who was just about to leave the hall.

"Wait for me!" He said, pulling on his bag.  
"Why should I?"

"Because a gentleman always walks his lady to her lessons!"  
"Well you're no gentleman Potter…and I most definitely am not your lady!"  
"That's not what Slughorn says…"  
"Well I am sorry Potter but Slughorn made you my partner not my boyfriend!"  
"Well if that's all your worried about then I accept."  
"Accept what?"

"Your apology…and you're making up for it…"  
"What?"  
"Well you're obviously hinting…"  
"What? No I am not!"  
"Oh come on Evans I know you want me…"  
"On the contrary Potter I can't stand you! The thought of kissing you makes me retch!"  
"So you've thought about it then…"  
"ARGH!"

"Evans…OI Evans wait!"

James followed her out of the Great Hall, his voice still echoing throughout the Great Hall and down the corridor.

"Why can't you just admit that you like me back? It would be a lot easier if you went out with me you know! Evans! Go on Evans…go out with me!"

Remus shook his head and returned to the Prophet.

"Someone should tell him how much of an idiot his making himself…" He grinned, "He's just driving her away…"  
"Reckon it would work with Johnson?" Sirius said sulkily.

"Oh stop being such a drama queen…"

Peter checked his watch with one head in his hand.

"We better go or we'll be late." He said, standing up and picking up his bag.

"Reckon I'd get away with just staying here?" Sirius asked hopefully.  
"Come on…" Remus chuckled, picking up his own bag.

Sirius mirrored him reluctantly and made his way towards the exit. They reached the dungeons and made their way towards the potions room. Sirius laughed when he saw James leaning against the wall next to a very angry looking Lily Evans trying his best to convince her that he really wasn't a 'self absorbed and infuriating toe rag'. Sirius leaned against the wall opposite Remus letting his hair fall into his eyes. His curious eyes darted all over the place, trying desperately to find his new partner. His eyes rested on her pale face as she too leaned against the wall, lurking in the shadows, letting her own hair conceal her face. Her fingers absentmindedly tapped at her books as Slughorn opened the door to the potions room and beamed at Sirius.

Great. This was going to be a _**fantastic**_ day…


	4. Spratz

Sirius took his new place at the back of the class while Lily trudged over to Sirius' old seat. Sirius laughed as James wrapped his arm around the back of her chair only to let go instantly as Lily pressed the hot tip of her wand against his skin, causing him to yell.

"What was that for?" James whined rubbing the red mark on his arm.

"I mean it Potter if you even try to-"

"Good morning everyone!" Slughorn smiled, entering the classroom. A very small Rae Johnson walked behind him, her head down avoiding eye contact. Slughorn closed the door after her as she took a seat next to Sirius. Sirius watched as she did so. She placed her books down on the desk and kept her eyes down; her hair created a dark curtain concealing her face.

"Righto! Lets begin shall we?" Slughorn looked through the lesson plan and smiled, "Oh ho! This should be rather thrilling for you!"  
Slughorn turned and wrote the title on the blackboard.

"Babbling Beverage!"  
"_**Riveting**_." Sirius mumbled with his head in his hand. Rae shifted in her seat; obviously she didn't find sarcasm all that funny.

"Righto! You must stir the cauldron six times clockwise and seven times counter clockwise whilst adding Fluxwood and Hellibore." Slughorn continued, writing the instructions on the board. "When the elixir becomes a delightful bubblegum pink add a few blades of knotgrass and I think you'll find it emitting a rather pretty silver vapour! Ok then lets brew!"

Sirius groaned and stood up to get the ingredients.

"I'll get them." Came a quiet voice. Quickly Rae hurried off to the store cupboard, leaving Sirius hardly any time to think.  
"Alright…then…" He said quietly, not quite sure what to do with himself. She came back just as quickly as she had left and placed the ingredients carefully onto the table. She took a splint and made her way over to the large fireplace, lighting it and then the cauldron. Sirius watched her as she edgily took out a sharp knife and began chopping the Fluxwood. Sirius took a clump of knotgrass and began untangling it and separating the blades.

"Hi…" he said after a moment of silence, "How's it going?"

Rae froze and bit her lip.

"F-fine…" She said almost inaudibly.

"Erm…good…" He said, giving her a sidewards glance, "I'm Sirius by the way."  
He felt stupid saying it but the truth was that he had no idea what to say. What do you say to someone you've never noticed before?  
"I know…" She said with a small smile, "It's hard not to with what everyone in the girls dormitories says about you."  
Sirius chuckled, "I don't want to know…"  
Her small smile widened.

"I wouldn't if I were you…" She said, almost giggling herself, "I'm-"

"Rae?" Sirius smiled.

Rae blinked and tucked her hair behind her ear, no longer hiding behind the curtain.

"H-how did you-?"

"Ah Sirius Black never reveals his secrets," Sirius smiled, "And besides…we've been in the same year since first year right?"  
"You've never spoken to me…"

"Maybe I never had the chance." He said flashing a sideward smile in her direction.  
Rae raised an eyebrow at that and returned to chopping the Fluxwood. Suddenly Sirius felt something pawing at his leg. Sirius glanced down to find a pale purple mass clawing on his trouser leg. Half its long and puffy torso was sticking out of a black shoulder bag Sirius recognised as Rae's.

"What the-?" Sirius exclaimed, shaking his leg.

Rae gasped and bent down instantly trying to shove the purple mass back into her bag. Suddenly it raised its head and Sirius recognised it to be a nothing more than a kitten. Sirius pulled a slightly confused face and shook his head in Rae's direction as though asking for an explanation. The kitten mewed and licked Rae's hand before curling back up inside the warmth of her shoulder bag. She stood up cautiously and eyed Sirius.

"You're not going to tell anyone…are you?" She asked quietly, her eyes wide with worry.

Oh God. James was right. She _**was**_ crazy.

"To be honest…if I did I think I'd be taken away in a straight jacket."  
Rae laughed quietly and bit her lip.

"Promise?"  
"Cross my heart." Sirius said, crossing his fingers and placing them on his chest, "Sirius Black is not a snitch." Rae's small smile turned wide, so wide that her lips parted to reveal her teeth. She turned back to the Fluxwood she had been chopping previously.

"Answer me this though…" Sirius said, unable to hide the laughter in his voice, "Why is there a purple kitten in your bag?"  
"It's my little sisters," She said laughing a little, "She tried to dye her hair with one of those wash out rainbow draughts that you can find all over Hogsmede, you know the ones, the ones you have to make at home?"  
"Yea I use them all the time." Sirius laughed, "But I get what you mean."  
Rae blushed and lowered her head, continuing to chop the Fluxwood as she spoke.

"Well, she made it all up in the cauldron and was about to put it in a vile…but the cat fell in instead and it didn't wash out. She must have bought it off one of those dodgy stalls instead of the shops. Shame…it has such a pretty white fur."  
She scraped the knife against the fragments of Fluxwood and scooped them into her hand, pouring them into the cauldron.

"Bet the cat freaked." Sirius chuckled.

"Yea pretty much," She said grabbing the Hellibore solution in front of her.

"So how come its in your bag?"

"I need to ask Slughorn if there's a removal charm to get rid of the purple for my sister. I'm not allowed to bring her to lessons but she's still so little that she needs to be fed regularly."

"What's its name?"  
"Spratz," She giggled.

"That's probably the most awesome name for a cat I've ever heard," Sirius grinned, "Better than fluffy anyway."  
"Yea…Fluffy is too…stereotypical."

"Cats have stereotypes?"  
"If humans can cats can."  
"I guess." Sirius chuckled, "What stereotype does your cat fit into?"  
"The weirdo," She chuckled.

He waited until she had measured out and poured in the Hellibore solution before he added the Knotgrass. Suddenly a silver vapour erupted from the cauldron and Slughorn chuckled from the opposite end of the room.

"Oh ho my boy! I knew this young lady would make quite the impression on you!" He said, beaming from ear to ear in Sirius' direction.

Rae blushed although her smile spread further across her face. The bell rang for the end of the lesson and Sirius packed up his things. Rae carefully manoeuvred her books and ingredients around Spratz.

"No don't eat that…" She whispered, gently batting a purple paw away from a few tufts of knotgrass. Sirius watched her as she did this; it was too weird and interesting for him to miss it. He grinned as she noticed his stare, her cheeks deepened in colour. Once again she tucked her ever-slipping hair behind her ear and smiled.

"Bye Sirius," She waved, pulling her sleeves up over her hands until they dangled off of her fingertips.

"Bye." He chuckled, following James outside of the potions classroom.

"So how was it?" Sirius asked.

"Well…" James said, pulling up his sleeves to reveal more red blotches. Sirius laughed loudly as the boys made their way to their next lesson.

"So…how about you?" James asked.

"I think…I just talked to a girl for an hour about…cats…"


	5. Tears and Tantrums

Sirius Black jumped out of bed, his clothes drenched in icy water.

"AAAAARGH!" He yelled, spreading his arms out by his side. He looked up to see a fully dressed James laughing next to the bed beside his. A very tired looking Peter with sopping wet hair entered the room and slumped down on his own bed.

"I told you I'd do it again…" Remus shrugged placing the now empty glass on Sirius' bedside table.

"The elves must think I piss myself!" Sirius complained pulling off his shirt.

"Well then wake up after the first five calls!"

"Do you know how many girls would pay to have a picture of that?" James said, indicating Sirius muscular chest, "We could make a fortune!"

Sirius grinned and shook his head, pulling the first pair of crumpled robes he saw out of his trunk. His mind returned to what Rae had said before and he couldn't help but grin.

_**It's hard not to with what everyone in the girls dormitories says about you.**_

"Yes I'm sure every girl in Hogwarts would _**love**_ Sirius' chest stuck to her wall," Remus said rolling his eyes, "But if we don't go down now we'll miss breakfast,"

Remus pulled his bag onto his shoulder and shoved Peter's into his lap.

"Yea, and this time, try not to fall asleep in the butter Wormy," Sirius chuckled, "You almost looked as greasy as Snivellus."

The boys laughed and left for the Great Hall, soon taking their usual places at the Griffindoor table.

"What have we got?" Sirius asked as Remus took out his timetable.

"Herbology," Remus replied.

"With who?"  
"The Ravenclaws."  
"Thank Merlin!" Sirius said, shoving a fork into his plateful of scrambled egg, "If I have to have one more lesson with Snivellus I'll hurl."  
"Ditto…" James said watching Lily Evans a few seats away with his head in his hands.

Sirius rolled his eyes and nudged his best friend.

"So what's Johnson like then?" Peter asked curiously, "She's in Ravenclaw right?"

"Oh yea…" Sirius smiled, turning round to run his eyes over the table. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he discovered that she wasn't there. She must have been bleaching the cat.

"So what's she like then?" Peter pressed.

"Yea she's alright…a bit nuts…but yea she's pretty cool." Sirius grinned. It was true that even in their brief conversation that he had grown fond of her. She seemed nice and funny even though she wasn't trying. Sure she was strange but she was harmless and just…nice.

Just as the words escaped his lips he felt something soft and mildly heavy jump onto his lap. Sirius laughed and looked down at the purple kitten pawing at his robes. It began to purr loudly and spun in circles in an attempt to make some sort of cat nest out of his lap.

"Getting comfortable are you?" Sirius chuckled, picking the purring cat up in his arms.

"Who's that?" James laughed, pointing towards the cat.

"And why is it purple?" Remus smiled.

"Spratz," Sirius smiled stroking its soft head, "It's Rae's cat…speaking of which."  
A very flustered looking Rae entered the hall and Sirius couldn't help but grin. A white paste was splattered across her already pale face and a couple of feathers had nested in her dark hair.

Sirius held Spratz in the air with a grin on his face in order for her to see that he had found her little run-away. She stared over in his direction and blushed making her way towards him. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and glowered at the cat.

"I am soooooo sorry…" She said to Sirius shaking her head.

"What happened to _**you**_?" Sirius said with a grin.

"I tried to de-purple him…" She said, blushing when she felt the other three grinning at her, "I-I tried to put him in a bleaching potion but he didn't like it and jumped out. The pot went everywhere and he ripped my pillow to shreds trying to get away…"

"Bet the other girls loved that." Sirius smirked.

Rae pulled an embarrassed smile and held out her arms.

"Come on you…" She said and Spratz jumped happily into her arms, purring as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.  
"Hey freak!" came a female voice from the Slytherin table, "Don't bother trying to cover your face, you're still hideous!"

"Yea weirdo why don't you just do us all a favour and stay in your dorm! I don't wanna have nightmares!"

"No-one wants you here!"  
"Yea Mudblood go home!"

Suddenly there was an ambush of voices from the Slytherin table and everything seemed to freeze. Laughter seemed to erupt from various areas of the hall even though it only seemed to be the Slytherins laughing. Sirius looked up at Rae. Tears brimmed her swampy green eyes as she clutched the cat closer to her in an attempt to hide her face. She bit her lip and let a single tear escape before she wiped it away swiftly before she thought anyone could see.

"I-I have to go," She said, barely allowing herself to finish the sentence before she ran out of the Great Hall. Suddenly James swung round and started yelling at the Slytherin table.

"What the hell is your problem? What did she do to you? No _**you're**_the freak! Yea well why don't you come say that a little closer Breechwood? Yea well up yours! You're just sour cos we've beaten you three times in a row! Shame you can't play quidditch as well as you can talk crap!"

Sirius stayed frozen in his chair until suddenly his legs took charge and he stood up, hurrying to pull his bag onto his shoulder

"Are you going to see if she's alright?" Remus asked sympathetically.

Sirius nodded and darted out of the hall chasing her footsteps down the corridor.

"Rae! Rae stop a second!" He called after her, but soon the footsteps disappeared and the sobs were no longer heard. Eventually Sirius stopped, panting heavily. Sirius stood alone in the corridor straining to hear something but nothing came. Anger boiled inside of him. He wanted to hit something…preferably a Slytherin. How can people be so cruel? No wonder she had always been to quiet. No wonder she had kept to herself. Sirius ran his fingers through his hair and made his way back to the Great Hall. The voice of Lily Evans could be heard echoing throughout the corridor.

"…for god sake Potter!"  
"So you agree with what they were doing?"  
"Well obviously not but you didn't need to hit him! Pathetic! You obviously just saw it as the perfect opportunity to-"  
"Why do you always defend him? Can't you see how much of a prat he is?"

"The only prat here is you Potter!"

"What? How can you say that after-?"

"Because you provoke him!"  
"WHAT?"

"You heard me!"  
"Did you not hear what he said? He spiked Sirius' potion too!"  
"No he di-"

"OH FORGET IT! He's obsessed with you Lily and he's brainwashed you into believing him! There's no point in arguing with someone so blind as to what's REALLY going on!"  
"HOW DARE Y-!"

"NO! He calls you Mudblood and you go crawling back! Why don't you just go out with him and do us all a favour!"  
"I DON'T-!"  
"WELL THEN WHY ARE YOU BEING SUCH AN IDIOT? WAKE UP EVANS!"

"I-YOU-HOW DARE-I HATE YOU POTTER!"

Suddenly a very red-faced Lily Evans barged past Sirius as he turned the corridor.

"WELL MAYBE I'VE GONE OFF YOU! MAYBE I HATE YOU TOO!"  
"FINE!"  
"FINE!"  
"FINE!"

Sirius scrunched his eyes as they finally stopped yelling at each other and made his way towards James.

"So…" He said cautiously, "You hit Snivellus?"  
"Yep…" James said, his eyes glazed over with angry tears and his arms crossed, "Did you catch up with Johnson?"  
"No…she's one fast runner I'll give her that."  
James nodded and pushed himself off of the wall.

"Everyone's already left for first period," He said quietly, picking his bag up off of the floor with his back to Sirius.

Sirius watched James with a sad smile.

"Don't worry mate…" He said quietly, "She'll come round."  
James sighed and absentmindedly ruffled his hair.

"No Sirius…I don't think she will."

**_Authors note: Sorry I haven't posted in a while, my laptop went bust so I'm having to steal my dads...grr technological difficulties! Thanks for all the reviews, I'm greedy so please give me more! XD I'll try and post soon...when I can steal the laptop a gain *laughs maniacally* byeeee xxxx_**


	6. Caring

Sirius and James caught up with Remus, Peter and the other Griffindoors outside greenhouse five. Sirius craned his neck around the crowd of Ravenclaws in an attempt to find Rae but he could not see her amongst them.  
"Do you reckon she'll turn up?" Sirius asked James.  
"Who? Rae?" James mirrored Sirius trying to spot her tiny physique amongst the clusters of students; "I hope she does so it'll be a kick in the teeth for the Slytherins…"  
"It's a good thing she has Herbology with us today and not with them." Remus said rummaging through his bag.  
"Bet she wouldn't turn up then…" Peter said distantly.

Professor Sprout, with her wild hair covered in leaves, emerged from the greenhouse and ushered them inside.

"Right! Answer to your names!" She called as they dumped their bags in the aisles.

"Armatige?"  
"Yes miss!"

"I can't see her anywhere…" Remus whispered to Sirius, "Did you manage to speak to her?"

"Bonnes?"  
"Miss!"

"Black?"  
"Yep…"  
"Chisselhorn?"  
"She hurled in the toilets miss…"  
"…Lovely…"

"No…" Sirius whispered back, "She ran off too fast for me to catch up."  
"Evans?"  
"She'll be back in a minute miss…"

"Finnigan?"  
"Here miss!"  
"Reckon she's plotting revenge?" Peter asked excitedly.

"Shut up Peter!" Sirius whispered, thumping him lightly on the back of the head as Sprout continued to make her way through the register.  
"Johnson?"  
There was no answer and a mumble spread throughout the greenhouse.

"Has anyone seen Johnson?"

When there was no answer Professor Sprout shrugged her shoulders and proceeded throughout the list of names.  
"I guess that means that she's not coming…" James whispered. Suddenly there was a creek as the greenhouse door opened very slowly. The class turned in their seats to see Rae Johnson enter the greenhouse. Her cheeks were pink with the attention and her eyes never left the floor.  
"I-I'm sorry I'm late professor…" She said, her voice so small that you could hardly hear her.  
"Just take a seat Johnson." Sprout said kindly and Rae shouldered her bag onto the floor gently; no doubt that Spratz was nice and snug inside it. She took a seat at the back of the class, alone.  
"Right for this lesson you will need to be in pairs." Sprout said, pulling out two small flowerpots, "Now these may look small but they contain probably one of the most vicious plants you will come across so watch your fingers!"  
Sprout poked at the soil with a sharp stick and a red plant that looked rather like a Venus flytrap slid out of its muddy home. Inside what seemed like two leafy lips, were long, sharp teeth set out in three rows. It widened its plant like jaws wide and strings of sap laced its teeth like that of saliva.  
"The Artus Perussi plant is a carnivorous plant that will attempt to eat just about anything living no matter how big it is. Although its teeth aren't quite strong enough to cut through bone they are more than capable of skinning the flesh so wear your gloves and be careful!"  
Sprout handed out each seemingly empty pot and returned to the front of the class.  
"Now normally these plants wont hurt you unless you disturb their soil. This camouflage is how they survive and catch their prey. A helpful hint…ALWAYS check ready-planted flora before you buy it…nasty business. You must extract the seeds on top of the…somewhat head like thing of the plant. One of you must spray inside the mouth where it will shudder and lower its head for the other to pick them. You will have to be quick or they'll nip you."  
Sirius turned to look at Rae who wasn't looking up at all; instead she bit her lip and let her curtain of hair cover her face.  
"Hey Prongs?" Sirius asked, "Is it alright if I partner with Johnson? I want to make sure she's ok…"  
"Yeah sure…" James shrugged, "Oh you have got to be kidding me…"  
Lily Evans entered the greenhouse with a note for professor Sprout. It was obvious that she would be partner-less this lesson as her friends had already paired up; clearly she was originally planning on partnering with Rae. James was now the only candidate left.  
"The one day you decide to partner with someone else…" James complained as Sirius smiled and moved over to Rae. She didn't look up as he moved towards her; instead she organised the tools and readied herself to prod the soil.  
"Alright if I sit here?" Sirius asked. Rae jumped and looked up at him with wide eyes.  
"Well…I think Lily was…erm-"

"She won't mind." Sirius said, taking the seat anyway. Rae took the stick and twiddled it between her fingers as Sirius took the spray.

"So…you ran from me." He said cautiously, "Why?"  
"Huh?"  
"I came after you…after…well…why didn't you stop?"  
Rae, surprisingly, looked straight into Sirius' eyes. There seemed to be a plead in them, a plead for him to stop asking questions.

"Why didn't you stop?" Sirius pressed, his voice remained soft with sympathy and encouragement.

"I-I didn't want to…" She said quietly and made to prod the soil but Sirius' voice stopped her.

"Why didn't you say something back?" He asked.

"What?" She said, her face blank.

"You know! Say something back! Defend yourself!"  
"I-I can't…"  
"Why not?"  
"I…I'm just not meant to be…look it's much harder to say something than it looks…"  
"I do it all the time; the Slytherins are prats!"  
"But I'm not you am I?"  
"Well what's the difference?"  
"People would notice if something happened to you."  
That shocked Sirius. Did she honestly feel so alone? Suddenly he found himself unable to say anything more and she prodded the soil, allowing the red plant to pierce the surface of the soil. He watched as its spread its jaw like feature and sprayed the inside. Quickly Rae grabbed the seeds off of its head and it snapped at her, narrowly missing her gloved hands. She placed the small seed into a dish and readied herself for the second try.  
"I'd notice…" Sirius said quietly, "And so would James and Remus and Peter…and I'm sure Lily would too."  
Rae smiled and lowered her head once more.

"And I know Spratz definitely would…" He continued as a purple paw emerged from her bag.  
"Thanks by the way…for making sure I was ok…and tell James I said thanks for fighting my battle." She said, carefully pushing the paw back in.  
"I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it." Sirius grinned.

They repeated the steps of spraying and picking in a somewhat awkward silence until eventually there were no more seeds left to pick. Rae picked up the dish and made her way past a bitterly silent Lily and James. Sirius chuckled to himself quietly as she jumped at their friendly smiles.

"See…" He said prodding her rib when she returned to her seat, which made her blush even more, "I told you they'd notice."  
Rae smiled and brushed the curtain of hair behind her ear; it became more apparent to Sirius that this was a habit of hers when she became more comfortable with things.

"Speaking of which..." Sirius said, "Hogsmede is next weekend…wanna come with us?"

Rae smiled a smile so wide that her lips parted to reveal her teeth even though her head was still bent downwards. It was such a happy and wonderful sight that it brought a smile to Sirius' face and a warmth that he couldn't explain.

" Sure…" She said quietly, "I'd like that."

_**Author's note: **__**OK so this is kinda the intro to the events ahead so sorry that it's not all that eventful. Thanks to those who have left reviews XD As I have said before I am extremely greedy so PLEASE GIVE ME MORE! xxxx**_


	7. Smiles and Roses

Sirius pulled on his long black coat and gloves before heading towards the Hogwarts entrance. Clusters of babbling students huddled together as they waited for McGonagall to tick them all off of her list.

James took his place next to Sirius, trying desperately not to look at Lily Evans.  
"Is she still blanking you?" Sirius asked, noting his friend's peculiar behaviour.

"It's Lily Evans, of course she's blanking me." James said sourly, "What really hurts is loosing to a Slytherin."  
"Oh come on James, who in their right mind would fancy Snivellus?"  
"Lily Evans."  
"Well then she's an idiot and you'd be better off with someone smarter."

James winced at Sirius' words and hoped to God that they were wrong. Remus and Peter entered the entrance hall, fumbling with what looked like tiny sacks.

"Galleons." Peter grinned as Sirius looked inquisitively at the bags.  
"Where did it all come from?" James asked.

"Remember when you two ambushed the Slytherins with those exploding balloons filled with wart draught, and being a prefect, I had to confiscate your money so you couldn't buy them anymore?" Remus said, trying and failing not to smile.

"Excellent!" Sirius grinned as Remus handed him a bag, "How did you convince Dumbledore to give them back?"

"Well, seeing as James is Head boy now, he wont be so stupid will he?" Remus grinned.

"Hi…" Came a quiet voice from behind them. Sirius turned to find Rae standing behind him. With it being the weekend, she had ditched her robes and was now wearing a vibrant red coat that flared from her waist to her knees. Her hair was tied into two dark plats and her legs were covered in thick rainbow tights underneath a black skirt. To keep away the cold she wore two flat black boots and thick white mittens.

"Are you ready then?" Sirius chuckled; he couldn't help but find her colourful appearance slightly amusing.

"Yea I…oh no wait my bag!" She said, darting off to the Ravenclaw common room.

"I can't help but love that girl." James chuckled as he counted how many galleons he had in his sack, "Reckon I can sneak back some firewhisky?"

When Rae had returned with her bag, complete with purple kitten, the five registered with McGonagall and headed towards the snowy village. The boys couldn't help but laugh when Spratz leapt from the bag to play in the snow only to hiss and attempt to jump back in.

"So are you getting some cat bleach in Hogsmede?" Sirius asked, laughing slightly as she placed the kitten carefully back into her bag..

"Aww your gonna bleach him?" James said sadly, "I'm going to miss the purple..."  
"Just think of it this way," Remus said to Rae, "If you loose him and he stays purple he'd be easy to find."  
"True…" Rae laughed, "But my sister asked me to do it for her."  
"Man I could kill for a butterbeer right now…" Peter said from far behind.

"Well hurry up then!" Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

When the five reached Hogsmede they trudged through the thick layer of snow towards the Three Broomsticks and found a booth that would hold five. After finding one, five butterbeers were ordered and Rae took out what looked like a baby bottle.

"You feed it like a baby?" Peter asked with a frothy butterbeer moustache.

"No." Rae chuckled, "I just have to hold it out for him and he does it himself."

She opened the bag and Spratz tumbled out, pawing the bottle without drinking.

"Uh oh…here come trouble…" Sirius mumbled as Lily Evans and Severus Snape entered the pub. Severus turned his greasy head towards their table and sneered. Lily Evans also turned, but instead she attempted to ignore them. When she saw Rae at their table her expression changed and she smiled and gave a tiny wave. Rae attempted to wave back but Sprats leapt from the booth and darted under the tables.

"Why can't you just stay in one place?" Rae whined as she attempted to grab hold of him, but he was too fast for her. Sirius dived for the kitten and knocked into Severus, holding the cat's tail. Severus lost his balance and fell to the ground, pouring his mug full of butter beer all over him. Sprats mewed in a vicious attempt and tried to claw Sirius' hands, but its paws were so tiny that it had no effect. Lily giggled as Sirius picked himself up but Severus looked upon the scene as if it were the most disgusting thing he'd ever seen.  
"Are you happy now?" Severus growled as he stood up, wringing his robes free of butterbeer, "I have to say that your plan was shamefully obvious."  
"What plan?" Sirius scowled whilst at the same time utterly bewildered.

"I find it rather childish how you get your kicks from knocking me purposefully to the ground Sirius."  
"What!?" Sirius yelled, "I was _**trying**_ to stop-"

"Oh don't even try and make a petty excuse. I wouldn't want you to embarrass yourself in public; you do it enough in Hogwarts."  
"Yea well at least I shower _**Snivellus**_." Sirius growled, "I'm surprised your allowed in public."

"Tell me," James said, walking up to stand behind Sirius, "Do you ever get used to people pitifully shoving money into your greasy hands?"

Sirius broke into a laugh as Snape instantly moved towards James with his fists clenched.

"Don't," Lily said placing a hand on his shoulder, "He's not worth is Sev."

"I wouldn't worry about it Lily," James said bitter with jealousy, "His hand would probably slide off my face anyway with all that grease."  
Severus lunged forwards but James was too quick for him and he held out his arm in defence, feeling Severus' face smash into it. Instantly, Severus fell back, a bloody hand catching the blood spurting from his nose.

"CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE PEOPLE ALONE!?" Lily yelled at James, kneeling beside Severus.

"What!? It was an accident! And anyway, he was the one that picked a fight!" James yelled in disbelief.

"Come on Sev," Lily said, pulling on Severus' arm, "Let's go clean you up."  
"Ha! Good luck!" James said, shaking with anger.

"You know Potter, I really couldn't care if I never saw your face again!" Lily hissed, "And after this year, I hope with everything that I own that I don't!"

She pulled Snape out of the pub and slammed the door behind her. James lurched forwards and wrenched open the door.

"You wait Evans!" James called out to her, "He's gonna hurt you one day and when that day comes you're going to wish that you listened to me!"  
Sirius watched as James stormed through the snow back in the direction of Hogwarts.

"James!" Sirius called, darting out of the pub with Sprats in his arms, "James!"  
"I want to be alone!" James called back and Sirius watched in despair as James disappeared into the snowy horizon. Sirius sighed and returned to the pub to find the three he had left behind sitting in silence. Sirius handed Spratz back to Rae with a sad smile.

"Here," He said.

"I'm so sorry…" She said suddenly.

"What?" Sirius asked confused.

"If I hadn't been here then Spratz wouldn't have jumped out and this whole fight wouldn't have happened!" She said as tears began to fill her eyes.

"It was going to happen anyway." Sirius sighed, reaching out to put his arms around her but refraining before he could, "Lily just can't see through Severus' little act…they argue anyway."  
The other two nodded and Peter drained the rest of his butterbeer.

"I know I just-"

"Don't worry about it…seriously," Remus smiled, "Peter and I need to get new quills so we're heading there next. Do you wanna head over to Honeydukes and we'll meet you there?"

"Sure," said Sirius before turning to Rae, "Unless you want to…"  
"No I'm good…" Rae said, stroking Spratz.

"Alright then, see you guys later."  
The four left the Three Broomsticks and split into two groups. Sirius and Rae walked in the direction of Honeydukes' sweet shop as Sirius desperately tried to search for something to say to her; he didn't want her to think that he was mad at her for starting a fight that she hadn't even started.

"So when did Slughorn tell you that I was going to be your new partner?" He asked. It was lame and slightly random but it would get her talking.

"That lesson actually," She smiled, "That's why I was the last one in…"  
"Wow, that must have caught you off guard…"  
"Mmmm…I was a little nervous actually…" She confessed, blushing a little.

"How come?"  
"Well…you _**are**_ a bit of a heartthrob and you're not exactly the quietest person…I was afraid that you were gonna think I was some kind of idiot because I didn't speak."  
"But you did speak…"  
"Only cos you started it; I would have been to shy to start one…I wouldn't now what to say...I'm too…boring."

"But you're so different!" Sirius beamed, "How can you possibly think you're boring?"  
"Well for a start no-one seems to acknowledge my existence…" She said, "And when they do…I wish they hadn't."  
"You can't believe what the Slytherins say…" Sirius said, "You're nothing like what they say."  
"No? Then why do they keep doing it?"  
"Because they'd give anything to be as brave and weird and wonderful as you…" Sirius said, the colour in Rae's cheeks darkening.

"How can I be brave when I'm too afraid to speak to anyone?"  
"They make you like that Rae! Look at you! Look at how amazing your dress sense is! Not many people are brave enough to wear that let alone pull it off!"  
"Is that meant to be a compliment?" Rae said with a small smile.

"Ok then how about this?" Sirius said, stopping suddenly, "You are the craziest most wackiest girl I have ever met and because you are, I can honestly say, that I find you positively amazing because you always make me smile."  
Rae smiled one of her wide smiles, her face positively pink.

"Really? I make you smile?"  
"All the time," Sirius grinned, "You do the craziest things; even James said that he can't help but love you."  
With wide smiles on their faces, the two entered Honeydukes sweet shop. As Rae searched through the 'fizzy pop potions' Sirius tapped her on the back. In his hand he held a lengthy lollypop in the shape of a rose, each petal varied with the taste of a different red fruit. Rae blushed and giggled as she took it from him.

"Thank you…" She smiled, quickly planting a kiss on his cheek, "And not just for the rose."


	8. That tingling feeling

As soon as Rae's lips had pressed against his cheek a strange tingling feeling in Sirius' stomach crept to the surface.

"Thank you…" She had whispered, "And not just for the rose."

Sirius couldn't explain why this action had made him so happy, why it had felt so good to make her smile, but it had. Sirius watched her as she sat on the curb, stroking the small purple kitten on her lap who, at this moment in time, was chewing on the bottle of milk in her hand.

"Do you wanna go find some bleach?" Sirius asked after a few moments.

"What about Remus and Peter?"  
"We said we'd _**meet**_ here not that we were going to _**wait**_ for them here…"

"Well…what if we miss them?"  
"You just really don't want to get him bleached do you?" Sirius grinned.

"Ok you got me…" Rae smiled sheepishly, "If I have to bleach him I'll do it at the end of the year at the last minute."  
"Good plan." Sirius smiled.

There was a moment of silence as the two of them continued to watch the small purple kitten drink from the bottle.

"Do you think James will be ok?" Rae asked.

"Yea he always picks himself up afterwards," Sirius said, "I just wish he'd go find someone else."  
"Mmmm…but the heart is a rebel; you can't tell it what to do." Rae grinned.

"Ok seriously, I'm going to have to start writing these things down." Sirius laughed, "See? There you go again…making me smile."

"Then maybe Slughorn has made a mistake."  
"What do you mean?"  
"How am I possibly going to tutor you if I keep making you smile?" Rae said with a sly smile.

"Maybe that's exactly the reason I'll learn anything." Sirius said suggestively.

"You're not going to make a pass on me are you?" Rae smiled cheekily, raising an eyebrow, "It's not the real reason you've suddenly started talking to me is it?"

"Erm no I wasn't planning to..." Sirius chuckled, a little nervously, "What made you say that?"

"You know why…" Rae smirked, "I've even heard James call your tongue 'the punisher'. I have to say that it's a very worrying nickname."  
Sirius burst out laughing and Rae joined in, causing Spratz to slip on her shaking legs.

"Oh Merlin…what else have you heard?"

For some reason this topic excited Sirius. It was almost as if he wanted her to be curious about what he'd done with other girls.

"Is it true that you kissed a vampire?" Rae asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep," Sirius grinned.

"And…how was it?"  
"Overrated. It's a real turnoff when they bite on your lip too hard…and it kinda worried me when she started nibbling on my neck…"

Rae burst out laughing, causing Sirius' grin to spread.

"I dunno…" Sirius laughed, " The whole gothic thing was kinda hot…but I value life too much."  
"Ok ok…" Rae said through her laughter, "What about the sister of the lead guy from the Weird Sisters? Was that true too?"  
Sirius didn't answer that one; instead he just grinned.

"Sooo…?" Rae asked.  
"I can't dish the dirt on a celebrities sister!" Sirius said, his smile creeping fast across his handsome features.

"So you did!" Rae gasped, somewhere between laughter and awe.

"So what about you?" Sirius asked, avoiding confirming that remark, "What are your experiences?"  
"What if I don't tell you?" Rae teased, "Would you use 'the punisher' on me?"

"If you let me…" Sirius smiled impishly and it surprised him that he half meant it.  
"Too many girls have let you…" Rae said, packing the bottle away and stroking the ball of fluff on her lap that was Spratz, "Too many girls _**still**_ want to let you."

"Does this mean that you're not going to tell me?"  
Rae smiled a sneaky smile and looked through her lashes at Sirius, not answering his question.

"Y'know for such a shy girl you really are a tease…" Sirius growled, causing Rae to blush.

"I didn't realise I was being a tease…"

"It suits you," Sirius winked, causing the colour of Rae's cheeks to deepen.

Another moment of awkward silence passed between them and Sirius couldn't help but wonder; had he been too forward? He was so unused to being around shy girls; it was always the mouthy ones he ended up with after a fair amount of firewhisky. It was so easy to win them over. To be perfectly honest he had never really tried just to be friends with a girl before; he was usually far to busy trying to get something…a little more exciting.

"Erm…do…do you want a leaf?" Rae stammered, holding out the rose he had bought her, "The petals look good but they look too pretty to eat…"  
Sirius smiled and nodded as a he took a leaf from her hand. For a brief second his fingers brushed hers and the tingling that had appeared when she had kissed his cheek was born again.

"Thanks…" He murmured and placed it in his mouth without another word. The truth was that he was too afraid that that odd tingling sensation would take advantage of him.

Sirius looked up just as Remus and Peter appeared on the street corner and he couldn't help but feel a little relieved.  
"Hey!" He said as they approached them, "Did you get everything?"  
"Yep," Peter said, eyeing the confectionary through Honeydukes' fully stocked window.

"We met up with James too…" Remus said, shooting a glance at Sirius.

"And?"  
"He was in the Hogs Head. He somehow got hold of some firewhisky; he said he was going to try and sneak some back in."  
"Was he pissed?"  
"Rosy…" Peter said, dreamily, "Reckon it's mildly sadistic if I eat a sugar mouse?"  
"Why would that be sadistic?" Rae blinked.

"Peter's an animagus," Remus filled in, "A rat."  
"Really?" Rae smiled, "I wish I could change my shape."  
Remus gave Sirius an if-only-she-knew look and turned to Peter.

"It's not as if it's a real mouse. People eat Jelly babies right?" he said and the four entered the sweet shop. Even though Sirius was no longer alone with Rae, something was different and he couldn't put his finger on it. This morning he had thought nothing of her hair; he had never noticed how dark and silky it looked. He had never noticed how deep and vibrant her eyes were or how her smile seemed to light up her whole face…but now…he couldn't _**stop**_ noticing. He loved the way she had blushed when Peter suggestively dangled a sugar mouse over her thick red lips, how her eyes seemed to brighten with each peep of uncertain laughter. He loved how the glow of her cheeks complimented the paleness of her skin. Sure he had noticed girls before and sure he could pick the pretty ones out no problem…but she was…different. She was natural and there was something special about her. To him she was beautiful, no matter what the Slytherins said.

"Oi Padfoot mate…" Came a loud whisper from the doorway. James stood half in the snow, half in the doorway. His cheeks were flushed and his speech was slightly slurred. James held up what looked like a paper bag and wiggled it in the air suggestively. Sirius didn't need telling to know that the thing in the bag was what had brought the colour to James' cheeks.

"Y'know when McGonagall sees you pissed you're going to be in trooooouble" Sirius grinned.

"I'm not pissed!" James said outraged, "I'm a li… I'm a little bit tipsy s'all…"

"Better not see Lily like that…she'll only hate you more…"  
"Y'know…Lily will NEVER understand JUST how much I love her…" James slurred, "I don't think she gets it. I think she…I think she's just like…y'know…whatever and I don't think she gets it."  
"Oh man…" Sirius mumbled, "Rae? Reckon you can brew a quick 'sober-up solution'?"  
"I'm not drunk!"  
"Yea sure…" Rae said quietly, "We'll need to get back to Hogwarts so I can ransack the storage cupboard though."

"Righto…Remus, help me drag him back. Peter…grab the junk…"  
Together Remus and Sirius grabbed James by the arms and tugged back in the direction of Hogwarts. Reigh trailed behind them until they reached the grand entrance with Peter occasionally chewing on a sugar mouse. McGonagall barely noticed them as they mumbled about coming back early to catch up on their homework.

"Hey Sirius…" James giggled as they tried to pull him up the stairs. He held out the paper bag which he had shown him earlier and wiggled it furiously.

"I snuck it in…"

_**Authors note: Sorry its taken so long to post EXAMSEXAMSEXAMSEXAMSEXAMSEXAMSEXAMSEXAMSEXAMSEXAMSEXAMS! AHHHHH! Thanks for the reviews btw PLEASE LEAVE MORE! they make me warm and fuzzy XD xxxx**_


	9. A little predicament

Together, Sirius and Remus heaved the slightly wasted James Potter up the moving staircase and into the Griffindoor common room. Rae and Peter trailed behind them, making sure that no-one that had the potential to snitch on them could see them. Sirius and Remus threw James onto the crimson sofa in the empty common room.

"Everyone must still be at Hogsmede." Remus said, rubbing the shoulder that had been supporting James.

"Bloody good thing too," Sirius said, watching James take another swig from the firewhisky bottle, "I really don't think you should drink anymore of that mate…"  
"Why?" James grinned, "Cos you want it?"  
He waved the bottle in Sirius' face and Sirius grinned.

"You caught me," He chuckled and took the bottle from James before taking a swig, "Lets save it for later though yea? You never know if we'll ever get the chance to sneak another one in again." Sirius gave the bottle to Peter who for one moment looked so excited that he might have wet himself.

"Put it in James' trunk Wormy." Sirius said and Peter's face fell almost instantly. As soon as Peter disappeared up the stairs to the boys dormitories Sirius turned to Rae.

"So what do you need?" He asked.

"Well…I_** think **_we need some moly for the drowsiness…some powdered root of Asphodel and some knotgrass." She said, using her fingers to list the ingredients.

"And you can find them all in Slughorn's potions cupboard?"  
"I think so…although he's never given us that much moly; there might not be enough."  
"Right," Sirius said turning to Remus, "Moony you look after James whilst I help Rae with the ingredients."  
"Oh you don't need to…I can-" Rae began to protest but Sirius interrupted her.

"Listen, I'm not letting you take the rap for pocketing stuff when it's not even your fault that-"

"It's not yours either..." Rae argued.

"No but it was my idea…so there." Sirius said, playfully sticking out his tongue, "If anyone catches us just blame it on me; I'm used to detentions it wont make a difference if I get another one."

"Very heroic." Sirius heard Remus mutter under his breath; he could swear he heard a grin in his voice.

"Fine…" Rea sulked although she was smiling all the same, "I better take Spratz back and empty my bag so we'll have something to put the stuff in." She darted towards the portrait hole and disappeared from view before Sirius turned to face Remus.

"What did you mean by that?" Sirius said, narrowing his eyes.

"By what?" Remus asked, acting the innocent before chuckling quietly. Remus continued to grin as he arranged the now snoozing James into a more comfortable position and Sirius continued to watch him with narrowed eyes.

"So erm…that rose she was holding…" Remus said, trying not to laugh, "Who err…did she get that herself?" Suddenly it clicked and Sirius' expression changed to shock.

"What!? Me and Rae!?" He gasped,__causing Remus to laugh.

"Well why not?" Remus asked.

"Well! She's…I'm…we're not…she's not my type!" Sirius blurted out, causing Remus' laughter to become much louder, "Shut up Remus! What do you know about girls anyway?"

"I didn't say I knew anything…all I'm saying is that you've never really taken as much notice to a girl as much as you have Rae."  
"What? That's bullshit! I haven't kissed Rae have I? I haven't…well…done _**that**_ with her have I?"  
"Well that's precisely my point; it's never taken you more than twenty four hours for you to get with a girl before. You must really value her to wait this long. Imagine that! A sensitive Sirius Black! I think you've found the one Sirius!" Remus chuckled.

"Well what if I'm not planning to kiss her or…do _**that **_with her!?"

"Ha! Sirius Black actually befriending a girl with absolutely no intention of anything more? Now _**that's**_ bullshit."

"What do you mean? I'm not a man whore!"  
Remus raised and eyebrow and Sirius sighed.

"Ok, fine…maybe I am…but-"

"Sirius, you can't tell me that you don't find her a little bit enthralling."  
"Why do you?"  
"Yes I do; even James wants her around and you know how hard he's stuck on Lily Evans. She's fun and different what's not to like?"  
"But do you…_**like**_…her?"  
"No…but I can guarantee you that you will." Remus grinned as Peter returned from the boys dormitories.

"Who're we talking about?" Peter asked.

"It's nothing don't worry…" Remus said," Have you been at James' firewhisky? Cos you smell like you have."

Suddenly the portrait hole opened once more and Rae scrambled through.

"I don't think the fat lady likes a Ravenclaw knowing the Griffindoor password; she might change it tomorrow just as a heads up." She said, blushing now that all eyes were on her.  
"Then we'll just have to tell you it again wont we?" Sirius smiled; from the corner of his eye he thought he saw Remus' grin spread, "Are you ready to go then?"  
"Mhm." She smiled, before turning her attention to the sleeping James Potter, "We're going to need quite a bit of that asphodel…"

Sirius and Rae headed towards the portrait hole and readied themselves for the potions cupboard ambush.

"Have fun…" Remus grinned and Sirius threw him a look over his shoulder as he disappeared through the portrait hole.

It was going to be easier getting to the potions cupboard than it was getting back; people were already starting to return from their visits and by the time they were done near enough the whole school would be back. Sirius and Rae slipped through the dungeons and into Slughorns class, careful as to not make too much noise; they weren't allowed in the dungeons without a teacher. Together they strolled towards the potions cupboard to which Rae used a spell that Sirius had never heard of.

"It's stronger than Aloe Hamora," She explained, "I heard Slughorn use it when he gave me stuff for the bleach. He uses it so students won't be able to open it."

"Until now." Sirius smiled, placing his wand on the nearest workbench so that he could use both hands to open the door. Careful as not to make the door creak, they slipped into the potions cupboard and began searching through the jars and containers for the right ingredients.

"Right so moly, powdered root of Asphodel and…?" Sirius asked as he looked behind two jars of black gunk.

"Knotgrass," Rae said as she searched through a box of herbs, "I think I found the moly."  
"Is there enough?"

"Yea it looks like it…"

"Oh hey I found the knotgrass!"  
"So that leaves the…AHHH!"  
Sirius turned just as a tall slim shadow abolished the little pool of light from the doorway. Severus Snape stood in the doorway with a nasty smirk on his face. He held Rae by the wrist and pried her wand out of her hand.

"I wonder what Slughorn will have to say about his favourite student stealing potions ingredients. My, my Sirius you do work fast."

"What do you mean? Give her wand back!" Sirius yelled, darting for the wand but Snape stepped out of the way.

"What I mean is that you're already dragging your latest prey for a little seven minutes in heaven," Severus snarled, "Not only that but you've managed to convince her to do your dirty work along with it. How do you do it Sirius? No matter, I'm sure Slughorn has more of a right to interrogate you than I do."  
"OI SNIVELLUS GIVE IT BA-" Sirius yelled, but he was interrupted by the slam of the cupboard door and the twisting of the lock. Sirius slammed into the door and began fumbling with the handle as Severus cackled and left the potions room, but it was no use; they were locked in. Sirius searched his pockets for his wand but bitter realisation hit him as he realised that he had left it on the worktop when trying to open the door.

"FUCK!" He yelled before slamming his fist into the door.

"Well Rae..." Sirius said turning to face her, "I don't suppose you carry a pack of cards with you do you?"

_**Authors note: **_Hey again guys, sorry for the severe gap in updates, I OFFICIALLY BURRIED MY LAPTOP AND HAVE TO STEAL MY DADS! *cries* Ahh well here you go! Thanks for the reviews! Keep em coming! xxx  
__


	10. A close call

"I bet Spratz is hungry again…" Rae said quietly, drawing spirals with her finger on the dusty floor, "He'll be mewing and annoying my roommates soon…"

"I bet Snivellus has pocketed my wand." Sirius growled, his back slumped against the wall in the far corner.

"He wouldn't be that stupid would he?"

"I can't see why not."  
"But Lily would find out."  
"He'll wiggle his way out of it somehow; he always does…the prat."

"Surely she must know how horrible he is…"  
"Well if she does she's in denial. She's known Snivellus for ages apparently."  
"But I thought she was muggle born?"  
"Apparently he lived near her or something…I dunno."

Sirius stood to gaze around the shelves and sighed. They had been stuck in the cupboard for an hour and the great hall would be full of food right now. Sirius couldn't help but wonder what had happened to James; Remus must have gone looking for them at some point.

"Is there anything remotely edible in this cupboard?" He moaned, "I'm starving!"

"I don't think so. Even if there were I doubt it would taste good" Rae sighed, looking up at him from the floor, "Shame I had to take my rose out of the bag…we could have eaten that."

Suddenly Sirius thought about what Remus had said earlier and he couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. He turned his attention away from her gaze and pretended to be interested with a collection of gloop-filled jars. He unscrewed the lid off of one of them before he prodded it with his finger and sniffed it.

"Oh man that's gross…" He exclaimed, quickly screwing the lid back on, "Hey!"

Just before Sirius placed the jar back where he had found it he found a yellow box lurking behind the gap he had made. He pulled it out and gave a triumphant laugh.

"Score!" He yelled, "Slughorn's been holding out on us!"  
Sirius threw the box of crystallised pineapple on the ground between him and Rae and slumped down next to her.

She giggled and picked up a piece and popped it into her mouth.

"It's not half bad!" Sirius grinned, chewing away.

"Reckon he'll notice they're gone?" Rae asked.

"He will when he finds us in here…" Sirius sighed.

"It's going to look so embarrassing…" Rae blushed.

"How come?"  
"Well…like Severus said, a closet or cupboard is the typical place for…things to happen. Slughorn might think we were doing something else."

Sirius grinned; too many memories.

"You never told me…" he said, giving her a sideward glance, "About your experiences…"

Rae grinned and twiddled a loose thread on her rainbow sock.

"You never told me whether the 'weird sisters' rumour was true." She said slyly.

"Oh come on…" Sirius grinned, "You don't really need confirmation of that do you?"  
Rae grinned and undid her thick dark plaits, combing her fingers through her hair. Sirius couldn't help but admire the movement. Her fingers moved easily through it, soft and silky. Sirius felt as though he almost had to restrain himself from touching it himself.

"I've only ever had one boyfriend…" She said eventually, "A muggle."  
"Really? A muggle?" Sirius asked surprised, "What happened?"  
"Well…he thought I was a bit…weird, but he liked me for that. He said I was different."  
"Little did he know eh?" Sirius said, his grin spreading across his handsome features.

"He found out that I was a witch by mistake…" She said sadly, "He saw me helping my mother making a Dittany healing potion; she's a healer. He didn't take kindly to the cauldron."

"So what he just left you?"  
"Mmmm…" She sighed, "He called me a freak and everyone agreed with him. They never believed him of course, but they knew that something must have happened for him to go like that; he had always defended me before."

"What a jerk…" Sirius said, "Technically I've never had a girlfriend before."  
"Just a hell of a lot of one night stands?" Rae smirked.

"Yea…" Sirius said, lowering his eyes but grinning all the same.

"Well…I suppose you can't really get hurt that way," Rae said wistfully, "Unless you go for a girl that really likes you…"  
"Yea I…seriously doubt that with the girls that I…" Sirius said slightly embarrassed.

"Oh so it's just the obvious one-night-standers you go for?" Rae said, her grin spreading rapidly, "The ones with all the glitter and ridiculously short skirts that end up looking like loincloths? I suppose being a seventeen year old heart throb has its benefits; you have to be pretty good-looking to get their attention. So how many have you exactly…?"

"Erm…I don't really know…" Sirius said, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully.

"And you've never found yourself really liking one of them?"  
"Nope."  
"You're such a boy!" Rae cried, throwing a ring of crystallised pineapple at Sirius.

"What do you mean?" Sirius chuckled, "Look at James! He's a boy and he only has eyes for one girl! And I can't imagine Remus going for the pull either!"  
"Ok then, _**you're**_ such a man whore!"  
"Fine!" Sirius chuckled throwing the piece of pineapple back at her. Rae threw it straight back before reaching up for a jar of gloop and unscrewing the lid with an impish grin.

"If you throw it back I swear-!" She squealed but Sirius dived for her wrist before she could aim it at him, knocking her flat on the ground with him on top of her. He pinned her wrists to the floor and grinned down at her as the gloop splattered across the dirt floor.

"Don't you dare!" He chuckled and she struggled to get back up, her dark hair fanning out beneath her. She lifted her torso a little and playfully sunk her teeth into Sirius' wrist.

"Ahh!" Sirius yelled, flinging his wrist to his chest, "Did you actually just bite me?"

"Yep!" she giggled, "Whatchya gonna do about it?"

He dunked his fingers in the nearby gloop and smeared it on her nose. She squealed and wriggled beneath him but he continued to spread it across her cheeks.

"Turn you into a cat," He smirked as he admired his face painting skills.

"Ok this is so unfair!" She complained, "You're heavier than me!"

"You should have thought of that before you decided to throw gloop on me…"  
"I said 'IF'. Big difference!"  
"You have no idea how cute you look…" Sirius chuckled. Suddenly his eyes widened in shock; he didn't mean to say that at all...not out loud anyway. It was at that moment that Sirius noticed how close they were, that her torso was between his legs, that he could feel her breathing beneath him.

"Oh ha ha…pick on the girl with gloop on her face," Rae said rolling her eyes, but blushing all the same, "Is this how you pull all your girlfriends? Oh…sorry…one night stands?"

"I…" Sirius began but he found that he couldn't finish; her lips were too close for him to concentrate. It didn't help that she was moving them as she spoke or that little grains of sugar from the pineapple were visible at this distance. The tingling feeling returned and Sirius felt to the urge to lower his lips to hers, to feel them, to taste them. He could almost imagine entangling his fingers in her soft hair as her lips moves against his. He could almost feel the warmth of her breath, her tongue sliding against his. He could imagine sliding his arms around her slim waist as he pulled her closer to him. The feeling was so strong that he was almost shaking as he resisted living the sudden fantasy that had overcome him. Rae seemed to have noticed Sirius' uneasiness and tore her gaze away from his. Sirius managed to pull a grin and rolled off of her.

"You caught me…" He said, trying to keep his laughter even.

She sat up, tucking her hair behind her ear and once again Sirius felt the urge to reach out do it for her. Her eyes were lowered and her cheeks were rosy. She cleared her throat and stood up, brushing herself down.

"I'm erm…let's look for something to clean it up…" She said quietly indicating the gloop on the floor.

"Err…yea sure…" Sirius said, picking himself up. He found a cloth and they both scrubbed at the gloop as Sirius tried desperately not to think of Remus' words replaying in the back of his mind


	11. A sirius misapprehention

The seconds ticked by as Rae and Sirius sat in an awkward silence, unable to think of what to say to each other. Sirius tried to shake the urge of reaching out to touch her but it was no use, it just kept coming back stronger knowing that it was forbidden. Yes, he had had the urge with other girls but it was nothing like this. Those times before hadn't been so awkward, they had wanted it and he knew they had. It always led to sex in uncomfortable hiding places at some party or another. This, however, wasn't just lust…this was something else and it was something so unfamiliar.

It had come on so quick. Sirius had never even looked at Rae in any way other than friendship before today. Sure he had always been fond of her and sure she was the first girl he had ever really attempted to get to know before, but…this?  
"Thanks Remus…" Sirius grumbled. In truth Remus had played a fair part in this. If he hadn't mentioned it, the urge probably would have gone on unnoticed, but now Sirius wanted it. He wanted it more than anything and it scared him.

Rae twiddled loose curls between her fingers, clearly worried about the purple cat that waited hungrily for her return in the Ravenclaw girls' dormitories. Surly people had noticed their absence by now? Sirius stomach growled hungrily and Rae looked up with a smile.  
"The nargles are angry…" She said in an attempt to boost the conversation once more and Sirius turned to smile in her direction.

"Aren't they supposed to live in mistletoe?" He chuckled. Rae shrugged and played with the same loose thread in her rainbow socks, trying and failing to pull it out.  
"It was the first thing that came to my head…and nargle sounds like such a grumpy word." She said quietly, "It sounds like snarl or…gnarl."

"Yea I guess…" Sirius laughed, "The world would be a much happier place if mistletoe was around all year long."  
"Ahh but then it wouldn't be special and people wouldn't have the guts to pull someone under."

"True…" Sirius said quietly, feeling awkward now that they were on the subject of kissing.

"Oh well…it wont affect me much; I'm the freakish rainbow child everyone's too scared to kiss." She joked, but there was a sad note to her voice.

"You're just too special," Sirius grinned, "That's why everyone's too scared to kiss you."  
"Not because I might blind them if they come to close?" She giggled.

"Nah…you're like the human flower. Your colour attracts the bee…" Sirius laughed

"I hope not...I don't like bee's…" She said, shuddering, "They're all fuzzy and their eyes are messed up."  
"Of all the things to pick about the bee and you choose their eyes!" Sirius chortled, "What about the sting?"  
"They won't sting you unless you get too close or annoy them…God this is such a good analysis of men…" She grinned. Sirius chuckled and moved a little closer to her now that the awkwardness seemed to have passed.

"I can't imagine why anyone would want to hurt you…" Sirius said quietly, "It would be like kicking a puppy."  
Rae laughed and leant back against the wall.

"Ahh well it's only been one guy…I can't judge. It's not fair to clump them all into one stereotype."  
"You're talking as if I'm not a man at all!" Sirius chuckled, "I'm not one of your bitches!"  
Rae blushed and smiled her wide smile.

"Sorry…" She said, "You're just so easy to talk to that I forget sometimes that you're the Hogwarts man-whore…"

"I'm warning you Rae…" Sirius said, "There are tonnes of gloop jars in here that I could-"

"Ok, ok!" Rae giggled, "I just don't understand how you can have so many but not feel for any of them!"

"Well…maybe that's not entirely the case…" Sirius said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Rae asked, slightly confused, turning her head towards him.

"Maybe I have…grown to like some of them but was too…afraid to make the commitment or say anything in case…well…you know."

"Sirius Black!" Rae said, sitting up, clearly stunned, "Am I hearing a confession?"  
"Maybe…" Sirius said, slightly startled at his own words; where had this come from? A sudden emotion raced through him; a fiery passion, desperately clawing away at him, pulsing through his veins, his heart accelerating at an alarming rate.

"Rae…" He said quietly, almost a whisper.

"Mmmm?" She said, turning so that her eyes met his.

"I think…" He said almost inaudibly, "I think I'm going to have to…to kiss you."

Before Rae could say anything, Sirius had leaned in close enough to feel her breath on his face. Their noses brushed for a moment and Sirius pressed his lips to hers. Immediately Rae's body went stiff and began to tremble. Sirius' eyes fluttered to a close as he let out a jagged breath. Sirius lifted a hand and threaded it through the soft loose curls he had been dying to touch, eventually the one hand becoming the two, pushing his lips harder to hers. He opened his mouth, prying hers open with it and for one agonizingly bliss moment their tongues slid together. Sirius groaned as his stomach released its army of butterflies, triggering that mysterious tingling and turning it into a much stronger feeling. It was such a relief to touch her, like an addiction he had been deprived of. He lowered his hands to her waist and lifted her shirt a little until his fingertips brushed the skin of her waist. He pulled her closer to him, until they were huddled in the corner of the potions cupboard, Rae on Sirius' lap, kissing with great passion. He pulled away and began to kiss her neck.

"Rae…" He whispered, when he felt a hard shove against his shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Rae asked, her eyes were wide and she looked paler than usual.

"I…kissing you…" Sirius stammered, bewildered by the sudden change in the atmosphere.

"You said you…you…you lied to me when we were in Hogsmede didn't you?" She said quietly.

"What?"

"You said that you weren't just being nice to me just so you could-"

"What? No, Rae that's not-!"

"Please don't…" she whimpered. Tears brimmed her big green eyes as she scrambled to her feet, out of his arms.

"Rae listen I-"

"I…just…just let me sit by myself for a while…"

"No listen to me! I just-" Sirius said, scrambling to his feet; this had gone terribly, terribly wrong. He hadn't planned this; he never thought when he woke up this morning that he would wind up kissing Rae Johnson, hurting her, driving her away.

"Rae I didn't-" He cried, attempting to grab her shoulders but she violently wriggled out of his grip.

"Sirius just leave me alone!" She screamed, tears pouring down her cheeks. With a violent shove she pushed Sirius away from her. Suddenly it went deadly silent and all they could do was stare at each other, pain sprawled across their facial features.

"I-I just want to be alone…" Rae whispered after a while, stepping back and slouching into the corner, "I-I'm sorry…"

Sirius remained standing, unsure of what had just happened and why. The sudden burning emotion that had coursed through his veins before had been replaced with the deepest pain he had ever felt. He wanted to explain to her that he hadn't been using her, that he hadn't just pretended to like her to get one measly kiss from her. He wasn't going to be the jerk she thought he was going to be and run round Hogwarts telling everyone that he's kissed the freak, the loner, the looser.  
"I just…for that brief moment in time I…I wanted you…" Sirius said quietly in an attempt to clear the confusion, though to be perfectly honest, he didn't fully understand it himself, "I…just did, I can't explain it. I never thought…you just…you're just so different and real and…"

Rae looked up at him with something between confusion and hurt sprawled across her face as though debating whether or not to believe him.

"I never wanted to…I never though that I'd…even now I…I think I still wan-"

Suddenly the door banged open and Remus Lupin stepped inside.

"I am so sorry…" He panted,"You would not believe how hard it is to get down here without being…is everything ok?"

It must have been a sight for him; Rae crying in the corner, pineapple chunks littered all over the floor, a few drops of goop here and there and Sirius looming over her with a very solemn expression on his face.

"Everything's fine…" Rae said, picking herself up and pushing past Remus, disappearing into the dungeons corridor.

"What happened?" Remus asked, completely shocked and confused.

"You were right Remus," Sirius whispered, barely believing the words escaping his mouth, "That's what happened…"

**_Author's note:_** Well here it is guys, the last chapter. I hope you liked it...JOKING! I would NEVER leave it like that :P PLEASE DONT KILL ME! Even though I have now made myself unworthy PLEASE continue reviewing! Thanks to those who do regularly and who have :) I will update soon! xxxx


	12. Painful reality

Sirius practically ran to out of the Great Hall, his heart pounding heavily in his chest.  
"Sirius!" He heard James call out but he wasn't about to wait for him; he needed to talk to Rae immediately. Everything had gone so terribly wrong last night; he had to convince her that he hadn't lied to her, that he wasn't just pretending to like her for a quick fling. He wanted to make everything right again, for her to like him again, for her to feel good. She deserved it. Sirius rounded the corner and slammed into the Ravenclaw portrait.  
"OW!" Yelled the girl in the portrait, her long blond hair now a tangled mess as she picked herself up off of the painted floor, "Oh…it's you." She fluttered her eyelashes at Sirius and gave him a wide smile.  
"Can you let me in?" He asked frantically.  
"What's the rush? Why don't you talk to me a little while longer?"  
"I have to do something important."  
"Oh?" She frowned, "Well I can't let you in without an answer to my question. Sorry!"  
"You let me in before!" Sirius whined.  
"Yes but you always had a girl with you who actually knew the answer." She said haughtily.  
"Well you're a girl that knows the answer…that counts right?"  
"Nope." She sang, playing with a strand of her hair, causing a pang in Sirius' heart to think of Rae doing the same thing.  
"Please? It's really important." He pleaded.  
"Will you come see me?" She asked, looking through her eyelashes at him.  
"Err…yea sure…" Sirius said, "Now will you please let me in?"  
"Sure," She smiled suggestively, "Just answer this question, it should be easy enough…" Sirius rolled his eyes and folded his arms, awaiting the question.  
"What is the name of the most powerful love potion of them all?" She asked, her eyelashes fluttering. Oh this one was easy; it was just last year that both Sirius and James escaped swallowing a whole bottle of firewhisky spiked with the stuff. They had never found out who did it…  
"Amortentia." Sirius said confidently to which the girl blinked in surprise.  
"Fine." She huffed and swung her portrait open for him to pass through.  
"Thanks." He said, bounding into the Ravenclaw common room. Behind the portrait was a large blue room with indigo sofas and a large blazing fire. Several girls sitting at one of the sofas looked up and began giggling and whispering to one another. Eventually one of the girls stood; she had long dark hair and was rather tall in size.  
"Can we help you?" She asked, standing in such away that her hips were thrust forwards. The other girls giggled and Sirius couldn't help but smirk.  
_**"It's hard not to with what everyone in the girls dormitories says about you."  
**_Suddenly Sirius' face fell as he remembered her voice…last night…  
"I'm looking for Rae Johnson?" He said and their faces fell.  
"Rae Johnson?" Asked the girl that had spoken to him, "Do you have her book or something?"  
"No…" Sirius said, suddenly angry at how she said her name, "I…we're friends."  
"Oh…" She blinked, "She's upstairs with her freakish cat."  
"Right. Thanks." Sirius said angrily and attempted to run upstairs only to fall back immediately. Sirius cringed as the girls started giggling again.  
"_**You **_can't go up there silly! It's the girls dormitories remember? The charm won't let you!"  
"Well can you get her please?" Sirius asked through gritted teeth.  
"Whatever." The ringleader said, trudging up the stairs. Moments later Rae appeared at the bottom of the stairs, her face falling as she saw who had come for her.  
"Oh…" She blushed and the ringleader smiled smugly.  
"Well aren't you going to kiss your new boyfriend?" She shrieked, causing the gaggle to erupt. Rae blushed and swallowed hard as Sirius' insides squirmed with embarrassment and guilt.  
"Can I talk to you…outside?" Sirius asked quietly.  
"Spoilsport!" The ringleader cried, "I thought you were all about fun Sirius? That's what Becky Tailor said anyway…" The girls erupted again and Sirius grabbed Rae's arm.  
"Please?"  
Rae nodded reluctantly and followed him outside. Together they squeezed through the portrait hole and around the corner, followed by the flirtatious shrieks of 'Bye Sirius…' from both the gaggle of girls and the portrait girl. Suddenly, they were alone and Sirius took a deep breath.  
"Rae…" He said quietly and she leant against the wall, her loose curls tumbling down to her waist, "I never meant for it to come across that I was…using you for…for-"  
"A cheap fuck?" Rae smiled.  
"Exactly." Sirius said with a small smile, "I just-"  
"Sirius…" Rae smiled, "I get it ok? Yesterday I was just…a little freaked."  
"So…you believe me?"  
Rae nodded. Sirius breathed out a sigh of relief and ran his fingers through his hair.  
"Thank Merlin! I was worried you weren't ever going to speak to me again!" Sirius beamed, "Come on, let's go find James; I want to know how he managed to sober up before we-"  
"Sirius," Rae interrupted, "I…I understand how you never meant to...you know, but…I…I think…"  
"You think what?" Sirius asked, his insides turning icy.  
"Maybe we shouldn't…hang round with each other so much…" She said awkwardly, "I mean…yea sure I guess I'm gonna have to tutor you but…I…if you didn't mean for it to be a joke then…then what did you mean?"  
Sirius swallowed hard. He knew exactly why he had kissed her; it had been that sudden urge, that raw and burning emotion.  
"I…I'm not…I'm still…hurting Sirius…" She blushed, "I don't…I don't want anything." Of course she didn't; he knew that by the way she had spoken about him last night, about how it hurt her. He knew it, but he still wanted it. What 'it' was he didn't know, but it hurt knowing that she didn't feel how he had yesterday…today…now. She smiled sadly and Sirius had nothing left to do but give a shallow nod.  
"Erm…o-ok…" He said, "I…I guess I'll see you around then." This time it was Rae's turn to nod. The two backed away from each other slowly. Sirius yearned both to run from her and to crush her to him, a lump in his throat knowing that only one of them was possible. Rae quickly turned and hurried through the open portrait hole. Sirius watched until every last piece of her had vanished into to the Ravenclaw common room. He stood there even when she had gone, unable to accept the fact that he had messed things up, that potions was the only time he would be able to talk to her. Then it occurred to him; she was still his tutor, they had to spend some time together. Sirius pondered at the thought of being alone with her again; would he be able to control himself this time? His heart accelerated at the memory of her agonizingly soft lips, her sweet taste, her warmth. He had never felt this strongly towards a girl before and it scared him. He took a jagged breath and walked sadly towards the Griffindoor common room. He bit his lip as the same thought came back to him again and again.  
"Could I really be…_**in love**_ with Rae Johnson?"


	13. Longing

Sirius sat under the willow tree by the lake with James, Remus and Peter, watching the gathering of girls dipping their legs into the cool water. It had been at least three months since Rae had decided not to hang around with them anymore and Sirius seemed to be having serious withdrawal symptoms; all he could think about were her soft lips, her wide smile, her unique and somewhat weird look. Sometimes he thought about them so much that he couldn't sleep, and when he did, it was all he dreamed about.

It seemed that without himself and the rest of the gang, Rae had become well acquainted with a new group of Griffindoor's. Now all Sirius could do was watch her as she and Lily Evans' clan messed around in the water; maybe it was simply easier for her to hang round with a group of girls only.  
It was true that potions had been awkward ever since they had decided to go their separate ways; during tutoring sessions they had always been surrounded by busy students in the library, so he had never had the chance to be alone with her since the day she had distanced herself. It wasn't like she was unfriendly; she stopped to talk to them with the occasional smile, a joke, a laugh…it just wasn't enough; he wanted so much more…

"SIRIUS?"  
"Huh?" Sirius said, snapping out of his thoughts.  
"Geez what's wrong with you recently?" James asked, thumping him on the shoulder.  
"Nothing; I'm just-"

"Checking out the girls?" James grinned, "Typical Sirius."  
"Not recently though…" Remus pointed out, "When was the last time you took advantage of a girl, Sirius?"  
"Wait a second Moony…are you actually encouraging Sirius to go on the pull?"  
"If it would bring him back to Earth." Remus shrugged, returning his attention to The Daily Prophet.

"Man I could do with a firewhisky…" James whined as he eyed up Lily Evans' exposed legs; he had been on a strictly alcohol free basis since Lily had to sober him up the night Sirius and Rae had got locked in the potions cupboard. It was obvious that she hadn't been best pleased at that, especially seeing as she hadn't spoken more than a few sentences to him since. Sirius' heart fluttered as he heard Rae's laughter echo across from the lake.

"How do I make her love me?" James whined with his head in his hands, his eyes locked firmly on Lily Evans.

"Very good question my friend," Sirius said, patting James on the shoulder.

"I mean…I haven't done anything wrong have I?"  
"Nope."  
"Then why does she keep rejecting me?"  
"Maybe you're just not her kind of person." Remus said lazily from behind his paper.

"But why aren't I her kind of person?" James moaned, falling onto his back, "If I just knew what she wanted then I could just…you know…"

"Girls are complicated mate." Sirius said sadly, "Don't even try to understand."

"Yea well it's alright for you!" James sighed, "You get everyone you want."

"That's what you think." Sirius mumbled under his breath.

Sirius watched as the girls began to settle down on the grass, sunbathing in their soaked clothes. Rae remained seated by the waters edge twirling her fingers in the water. She looked up and Sirius didn't know whether to carry on watching or look away, but, somehow, he just couldn't bring himself to do the latter. She smiled at him and gave a small wave to which he returned a large grin.

"How come she's not with us anymore?" James said rather sulkily.

"I told you…" Sirius said, rolling his eyes, "She found it uncomfortable being around a bunch of guys twenty-four-seven."

"More like she couldn't handle being around you twenty-four-seven." James winked.

"Shut up Prongs."  
"No, I'm serious. Look at you; you're a God. Even _**I'm**_ finding it hard resisting right now."

Sirius chuckled and gave James a hard shove. Sirius' grin soon vanished when he saw the curious look Remus was giving him.  
"What?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing."

"Oh come on, you can't just say 'nothing'."  
"Well…" Remus said, biting his lip.

"What is it?" Sirius demanded.

"Well I thought you said that, ages ago, what I said was right…did you mean…?"  
"No." Sirius said quickly and gave Remus a look to which he hastily returned to his paper. Luckily for Sirius, James was too busy watching Lily and her friends giggle at the waters edge with Rae.

"She's so perfect…" James said wistfully, "Even when her hair's a tangled mess it still looks pretty."  
"You're just excited that she's in wet clothes," Sirius grinned, "Come on, lighten up mate! Quidditch party tonight! Time to celebrate your most recent victory!"

"I guess…"James said sadly.

"Oi Moony, give him a whack will you mate?" Sirius asked, indicating a snoring Peter, "He sounds like he's dying!"

Remus sighed, rolled up the newspaper and smacked Peter on the head with it. Peter yelped and sat up immediately.

"Wakey wakey, Wormy!" Sirius called.

"I was catching up on my sleep for tonight!" Peter moaned.

"Well then you shouldn't start transfiguration essays at midnight the day before it's due!" Remus huffed.

"I'm so proud of you Wormy," Sirius said, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye, "Come on James, we said we'd help set up."

"We'll all go, that way Peter can catch up on his sleep where none of us have to hear it." Remus said, getting to his feet.

"Can't we stay here a bit longer?" James moaned, "She still isn't completely dry yet; this is a rare and beautiful moment…"

"For you maybe," Sirius said rolling his eyes; in truth he didn't want to tear his eyes away from a certain someone himself; it was just easier this way.

"Fine…" James sighed, "This party better be good." The boys trudged across the grass, back to the Griffindoor common room. They needed to hurry up; the sun was setting and the party was going to start soon.  
"So if you two get the food from the elves and we'll-" Sirius began before he knocked into something small and warm. Rae clumsily stumbled backwards with a still purple Spratz in her arms, a look of surprise plastered across her face. Instantly Sirius threw out his arms and grabbed her by the shoulders, steadying her.

"Sorry," Sirius chuckled bashfully.

"Why am I so clumsy?" She blushed, shaking her head.

"No, I should have looked where I was going," Sirius laughed, "You're still clumsy though…" Rae blushed and giggled before Remus interrupted them.

"Hey Sirius, we really need to rush so we're going on ahead ok?"

Sirius blinked before he realised what Remus was doing.

"Oh…um…yea sure…" He stammered as James grinned at them and waved goodbye. As they vanished up the moving staircase it soon dawned on Sirius that for the first time in months, he was alone with Rae…the girl he couldn't stop thinking about.

"So…" He said, for the first time completely at a loss of what to say to a girl, "You haven't bleached him yet." Sirius felt like banging his head against a brick wall; it was such a lame and pointless thing to say. Rae laughed and stroked the purple cat in her arms.

"No, I don't think I ever will. He seems to like being purple; all bleaching methods made him go mental."

Sirius' heart accelerated as he remembered her entering the Great Hall covered in white paste; she had looked so cute.

"I like him purple…" Sirius smiled, scratching the cats chin, "It makes him Spratz."

"A complete freak of nature like his owner," Rae chuckled.

"But it works for the both of you," Sirius said quietly, "You seem very popular these days..."

"Lily Evans and I had always got along..." She smiled, "I just think she thought I'd prefer hanging around with people in my own house. When she saw me with you at Hogsmede that day she asked if I wanted to hang round some time after…the cupboard incident."

"Yea, Lily is a really nice girl." Sirius said, avoiding cupboard talk, "Better than those Ravenclaw girls…"  
"Mmmm…" Ray said absentmindedly.

"Has she…told you about the Griffindoor victory party?" Sirius asked bashfully.  
"Oh…yea…" Rae blushed, "I'm gonna have to pretend to my fellow Ravenclaws that I was simply spying for tactics."

Sirius grinned and ran his hand through his hair.

"Oh ok...I guess I'll see you later then?"

"Definitely." Rae said, her colour deepening. Sirius had to fight off the urge to sigh; he loved how easily she got embarrassed.

"Ok…bye…" Sirius waved.

"Bye…" Rae waved back. She grinned, took hold of Spratz's tiny purple paw and waved it.

"Bye Siwius…" She said in a squeaky voice.

"Bye Spratz." Sirius chuckled and disappeared up the moving stairs, his insides positively wriggling in delight. How could a few minutes alone with her possibly make him feel as good as he did now? If only he could have more. If only he could have her all to himself. The tingling feeling returned as he remembered pulling her close to him, his fingertips brushing the skin of her hips…her lips opening under his. If he couldn't have her he could still convince her to spend more time with him right…or was that obsessive? Sirius didn't care; he wanted more of her and was determined to get it.

_**Author's note:**__** Hey guys, sorry for the big time gap but I so wanted it to be summer-ish! Thanks for all the reviews and thanks so much to all of you that have applied for alerts and added this story to their favourites! I'm really quite overjoyed! I'll post again soon I promise! xxxx**_


	14. Spinning

Seven o'clock. Sirius sat at the back of the Griffindoor common room tapping his fingers absentmindedly against his champagne glass. Oh yes, they had gone well out this year; it was James' last shot at getting the Quidditch Cup. The victory would have been a great ending to a seven-year reigning champion and the Griffindoors had no doubt that they were going to get it. As usual, James was surrounded by star struck Griffindoors and Sirius was left to admire the scene from afar. Normally this would have been the perfect opportunity to pick up the girls in the skimpiest dresses and drag them to the nearest broom closet but this time Sirius just want in the mood. Lily Evans, in a black dress with a ribbon at the waist and a floaty skirt that reached just above the knee, moved over to the buffet table and poured herself a goblet of pumpkin juice. Sirius swallowed his last mouthful of champagne and edged his way towards her.

"Enjoying the party Evans?" he muttered into her ear, causing her to jump.

"Shouldn't you be locked in a broom closet or something?" She growled, turning to face him, "Or have they finally sussed that you must have every STD going right now?"

"_**You're**_ my next broom closet romance Evans." Sirius grinned.

"In your dreams Black!" She snarled although she said it with a smile.

"No…we all know that you're destined for Mr Popular over there," Sirius winked, indicating James with a nod of his head. They both turned to find James surrounded by various gaggles of girls, looking rather embarrassed.

"So you've never lost?"  
"Erm…well not-not in Hogwarts no…"  
"Wow you must be really good with a broom…"  
"I'm alright I guess-"

"Don't be so modest James! Here…have a chocolate snitch."  
"Erm no thanks...bad experience with chocolate snitch's. Y'know…love potions and stuff…"

The girl who had offered him a chocolate snitch looked most disappointed and left the huddle around James. Sirius returned his attention to Lily although she seemed to find great interest in the scene and continued to watch.

"So erm…where's Johnson? I thought she said she was coming…" Sirius said, snapping her out of it. Lily looked puzzled for a second before raising an eyebrow.

"Why are you so interested in Rae?"

"Huh?"  
"I mean…before you guys decided to hang around with different people you used to sit together at lunch, you took her to Hogsmede, you bought her a rose lolly or whatever it was…you ran after her when she got hurt…why is she the only one you haven't…shagged basically?"

Sirius burst out laughing at how un-Lily-ish that had just sounded and Lily found herself laughing alongside him.

"Well?"

Sirius sighed and poured himself another glass of champagne.

"Maybe I just want a new friend." He said, eyeing her from the corner of his eye.

"Oh yea? You sure you're not in denial?" Lily smirked.

"And why would I be in denial Evans?"  
"Because maybe you've actually found someone you care more about than yourself."  
"That really stung Evans."  
"I'm being serious."  
"I think you're too serious Evans, lighten up." Sirius said, smearing cream from a nearby cupcake onto her nose. It made his insides squirm to remember how he had drawn whiskers on Rae's face in the potions cupboard. As if right on que, the portrait swung open and Rae stood in the opening. Her dress was a brilliant and vibrant red with large black polka dots and a black ribbon around the waist. Her hair hung in loose curls to her middle and her dress flared and ended a little above the knee. Sirius must have been staring for far too long because when he returned his gaze to Lily she was shooting him a satisfied smirk.

"What?" Sirius asked innocently.

"I'll let her fall into your capable hands shall I?" She grinned, "Oh and Sirius? Don't be a jerk."  
"I don't know the meaning of the word Evans…"  
"I'm Serious…"  
"So am I."

"Hey Evans!" James called from across the room and made his way towards her.

"I think that's my que to leave," Sirius smirked and made his way towards a rather bashful looking Rae.

"Oh thank Merlin!" She sighed as she saw him approaching, "I was starting to think that I didn't know anyone here." Sirius smiled and handed her the glass of champagne he hadn't drank from yet.

"You probably didn't notice James behind the wall of admirers," He smirked.

"What about yours?" She asked raising an eyebrow, "Off sick?"  
"Shut up." Sirius laughed digging his fingers into her ribs, making her squirm and giggle.

"Ok, ok I'm sorry!" She laughed.

"You better be…"

Rae smiled and sipped on her champagne glass.

"I've missed you." Sirius said suddenly and Rae blushed.

"I haven't been anywhere…"  
"You might as well have been...you don't talk as much as you used to in potions."

"I thought you might find it awkward."  
"I'd prefer that to nothing at all."  
"So you would have found it awkward?"  
"At first maybe…but…it kinda sucks that you're not around anymore. We need a bit of colour in the gang. James has just turned into a whiney git now that Evans is barely speaking to him."

"She barely spoke to him anyway…"  
"I know right? Now that just shows how bad it's got."

Rae laughed just as Alice Prewett stood on the Griffindoor sofas and whistled for everyone to be silent.

"Time for spin the bottle!" She yelled and Sirius felt the colour drain from his face.

_**Oh Merlin, help me…**_

Several girls grabbed Sirius by the arms and plonked him down on the sofa.

"Rae!" Sirius heard James call out, "Bloody hell I didn't know you were here! Come sit with me! Remus, don't try and get out of it everyone has to be involved!"  
Remus groaned as James grabbed hold of his robes and dragged him alongside him until the three of them were sat in the circle.

"Right!" Alice beamed, "I'll spin first!" She grabbed hold of the firewhisky bottle and gave it a vicious spin, making it whirl so fast that it was almost a blur. Eventually it came to a stop and all the girls squealed when it landed on Frank Longbottom; clearly there was something behind those squeals. Frank grinned as they crawled towards each other and pressed their lips together. Suddenly the whole room cheered as their mouths opened against each other and the corners of their mouths twitched in amusement.

"Come on you two!" Someone from the circle called out, "There's other people too you know!" Both Alice and Frank blushed before Frank crawled to sit next to Alice instead of going back to his place, and spun the bottle. The bottle landed on the girl that had tried to give James a spiked chocolate snitch, and he leaned over to press his lips to hers, although, this had not nearly as much passion as the kiss for Alice had. She took the bottle from the centre and spun it just as viciously as Alice had. The girl looked like she was going to wet herself when fate made the bottle land on James. Almost too quickly the girl crawled over to James and pressed her lips to his, opening them almost instantly, roughly, causing the crowd to wolf whistle and cheer. Sirius eyes flashed to Lily's face and for a spilt second, he thought he saw it fall. Eventually the two broke up and James took the bottle in his hand and spun it. As if in slow motion the bottle came to an unsteady halt…right in front of Lily Evans. The whole crowd erupted into yells of appreciation, wolf whistles and giggles. Lily lowered her eyes and James began to crawl towards her.

"Sorry about this Evans…" Sirius heard James say almost sadly, his nose grazing hers.

"W-why are you sorry?" She blinked, her voice almost a whisper.

"I know how much this must disgust you…" He whispered and pressed his lips against hers, causing the crowd to become louder. He raised his hand as if to entangle it in her blazing red hair but thought better of it and lowered it again. Their mouths opened and the crowd almost brought the castle down with the noise they were making, but the kiss was too slow and heated for it just to be a stupid dare. Eventually they broke apart and when Lily finally opened her eyes, James had shoved the bottle into her hand and had hastily returned to his seat. Lily quickly swallowed hard and spun the bottle. Cheers and wolf whistles erupted when it eventually landed on Rae.

"Hottest action of the night!" Someone in the circle called as Lily chuckled and made her way towards Rea. The two girls giggled and pulled apart several times before they managed to press their lips together.

"Ok, ok, last try!" Lily chuckled and the girls pressed their lips together.

"TONGUES!" The crowd cheered and the girls opened their mouths, causing the crowd to erupt once again. Rae giggled and wiped her lips.

"Best kiss I ever had!" She exclaimed, causing everyone to cheer again, and spun the bottle. Sirius swallowed hard as Rae's hand let go of the bottle. He wanted more than anything for that bottle to land on him, but, at the same time, he wished with everything he had that it didn't. Eventually the bottle slowed, causing everyone to whoop with excitement, when, suddenly, it stopped….on him.

_**I bloody knew this would happen.**_

Rae swallowed hard and looked up at Sirius on the opposite side of the room. Slowly she began to crawl towards him and bit her lip. Not knowing what to say to each other, they moved in for the kill and pressed their lips together. Suddenly the room became silent, mouths opening as if to cheer but no sound reached Sirius' ears; it was Rae and only Rae…

He threw his hands up to her hair and knotted them deep within her curls, crushing their lips together. Their mouths opened and that tingling feeling came back strong and hard as their tongues slid together; she tasted too good. The raw and burning emotion coursing through his veins got the better of him and Sirius pushed himself onto his knees. He grabbed her waist in his hands and pulled her body closer to him so that they were pressed hard against each other. He moaned as she let out a jagged breath and crossed his arms around her, holding her…

It could have been hours, days, weeks, months; he wouldn't have known. All Sirius knew was that he was holding Rae, kissing her with a fierce passion as their lips opened and closed against each other and their tongues slid together . It was perfect, it fit, it was everything he had dreamed of for the past three months and it was an agonizingly blissful relief. Suddenly, almost too soon, Rae slid her arms off of Sirius' shoulders and they broke apart. Sirius remembered to breathe.


	15. Only you

The room was silent as they broke apart; the shrieks and wolf whistles had died and turned into silent shock. Sirius looked down at Rae, their faces still barely inches from each other. Her skin was scarlet as she eyed the floor and Sirius suddenly felt awful. Slowly he sunk back into his sitting position and bit his lip; he hadn't intended to kiss her like _**that**_. Rae took a deep, shuddering breath and stood up, backing away towards the portrait hole, her eyes never meeting his. Suddenly, she was gone and the room remained silent, all eyes on Sirius. What had he done?  
James opened his mouth to speak but nothing escaped his lips. Suddenly Sirius stood and his legs dragged him out of the Griffindoor common room. He began to run, full speed down the corridor; he didn't know where he was going but he needed to escape the image of those eyes, the hundreds that had scrutinized him. He burst through the large double doors and into the grounds, hurtling towards the lake, the sight of its calm surface soothing to the ache within his heart. For the first time, Sirius thought he could really understand James' pain, the pain of rejection from the one person you love the most in the world. With the burning emotion still coursing through him, Sirius tore off his robes, still running, and jumped into the lake.  
The water was icy cold, but it helped him concentrate on every piece of his body apart from his heart. He closed his eyes and let the water carry him until he couldn't put off coming up for air a moment longer. He grabbed hold of the waters edge and pulled himself out, dripping with icy water. He slumped against the willow tree where he and his friends spent most of their time but this time, it felt like such a lonely spot. Sirius sighed and laid his head against the tree trunk, just lying there in his sopping wet clothes. He watched the water ripple and glisten under the moonlight but his mind was elsewhere.  
From the moment that he had met Rae he had liked her; never before had he been so enthralled with a girl, taken such an interest to her; an interest that wasn't sex. He had made small talk, he had instantly adored her smile, tried to make her feel ok, to make her laugh. He had talked to her for an hour about cats and still found the conversation fascinating! Was it possible that he had fallen instantly in love with her?  
Sirius reached out and grabbed the crumpled pair of robes he had thrown on the floor earlier and jumped a little when a tiny hand got there first.  
Rae handed him his robes with a small smile and sat down beside him, hugging her legs.  
"Does this mean that you don't actually hate me?" Sirius asked. He tried to smile but his heart ached so much that it felt false. Rae opened her mouth to speak but closed it again and Sirius felt his heart sink. He swallowed hard as a lump began to form in his throat; here it came, time for the heart brake. She hated him, she didn't want to be with him, she didn't crave for him like he did for her.  
"Sirius…I…I don't want you to think that…that I hate you," She began.  
"No?" Sirius said, although he thought he heard his voice break a little.  
"I knew you would think that," She sighed, "Sirius…when you kissed me I…I wanted to kiss you back…"  
"You did?" Sirius said, his heart fluttering with new hope.  
"Didn't you notice the way I was clutching you?" She burst suddenly, tears brimming her eyes, "Didn't you notice the way I went limp in your arms? The way I pulled myself closer to you? Letting you kiss me the way you did? I didn't pull back, I hung on…"  
"I just lost control...I-I didn't know what was happening." Sirius whispered, "When you went limp, let me kiss you…I thought you didn't want to respond, so you just l-let it happen."  
"No...I felt too weak to do anything…" She said quietly, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.  
"Why are you crying?" Sirius whispered, edging closer to her, wiping way the tears with back of his middle and fore-fingers.  
"I'm so confused," She sobbed, "I…I think I've fallen in love with two people…is that possible?"  
"It's the muggle guy isn't it?" Sirius sighed and Rae nodded miserably.  
"Rae…I would never hurt you like he did," Sirius whispered into her ear, barely able to contain his joy; she loved him. "I…he…he will never love you as much as I do." He breathed, barely able to believe what he had just said; he was in love…_**in love**_ with a girl who loved him. Rae turned her head to face him, surprised and smouldering, she opened her mouth to speak but Sirius stopped her, the sudden adrenaline causing everything he had wanted to say to come spilling out.  
"I know how much you must still love him, and I understand, but I need you to understand that to me you are…perfect." He blurted out, his eyes never leaving hers, "Ever since I first met you, when you were that timid little brunette too afraid to speak to anyone and we had that ridiculous conversation about cats. Don't laugh…I loved it, I loved it because it was different and so normal and natural because you were the first and only girl to make me nervous."  
Rae grinned and let out something between a laugh and a sob before Sirius pulled her closer.  
"You never smiled; even when you did it was small, tiny; you could barely notice it." He chuckled, "I wanted more than anything to put a smile on your face, and when you did smile, properly I mean, it was the most beautiful thing I ever saw; it…it made me feel so good."  
Rae blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, shuddering as Sirius' arm curled around her even more.  
"When those Slytherins made fun of you, I just wanted to put my arms around you, to tell you not to listen, to tell you that…that to me you were beautiful no matter what…but I couldn't catch up and I felt awful. When you came with us to Hogsmede and I was telling you all those stories about…girls…some weird part of me wanted you to be jealous, to tell me that you could be so much better than them, to…to prove it to me and…and kiss me.." Sirius said, his voice lowering to a whisper at the last two words, "And then…I did kiss you…but it went wrong. I never meant to hurt you. I have to admit that my timing sucked seeing as it was almost straight after you told me about that guy but…it was real and I wanted it more than anything. It was…it was like I craved for you, that I couldn't get enough. I can't tell you how much it…hurt when you said goodbye."  
"I hadn't left Sirius…" Rae blushed, "I was still around."  
"Barely," Sirius said, "It was like your body was there but you weren't; you seemed vacant and you barely spoke to me. From the moment you decided to distance yourself from me I couldn't think of anything else but you. I haven't been with anyone since I met you…I only want you. I know you might find that hard to believe; I don't exactly have the best reputation but I swear to you…I love you. That's why I kissed you like I did tonight, that's why I haven't given up and said goodbye; I just cant because…I've fallen hopelessly in love with you."  
Sirius lowered his head so that his forehead was leaning against hers, his smouldering eyes penetrating hers.  
"Forget about him Rae…" He whispered, taking a strand of her hair between his fingers, "No-one can possibly love you more…than I do right now." Rae shuddered; her eyes were closed and her lips slightly parted. Sirius heart accelerated fast and he jerked his chin forward slightly, bringing their lips closer together. Sirius slid his hands up under her hair, knotting his fingers into it. He pushed his chin forward a little more and their lips brushed, the tickle of her lips against his, the rush of warm air against his face.  
"Oh just hurry up and kiss me already!" Rae whined and Sirius grinned before he pressed his lips to hers. Instantly their mouths opened against each others and Rae threw her arms around his neck. Sirius felt her tiny fingers reach up and grasp his dark locks, pulling him closer to her. His tongue slid against hers as he explored her mouth, savouring the sweet taste of her. His hands slid down her hair, down her back, to her waist and he pushed forward a little until she lay on the grass with his body leaning over hers. Sirius moaned as his hands slid a little up her shirt, his fingertips brushing the soft flesh of her hips, her waist, her back. Rae slid her hands up under his sopping wet shirt and brushed over the muscles of his chest and back. Sirius shivered as the warmth of her skin made his nerves tingle with pleasure in contrast to his wet, icy flesh. Rae hooked her fingers onto his shirt and began to pull it up over his head. Sirius threw it to the side and shuddered as he pressed his cold, wet skin against her soft warm flesh, her arms wrapping round him, fingers clutching him.  
It could have been minutes, hours, days before they finally pulled apart, breathless as they suddenly remembered how to breathe. Rae laid her head on Sirius' shoulder and sighed as he wrapped his arms around her. She raised her head and pressed her lips to his neck, exploring further until she came to nibble his ear, causing Sirius to shudder.  
"I love you…" She whispered and Sirius squeezed her tighter. Together they lay by the lake, under the willow tree, watching the stars fade one by one.

Authors note: So I figured that it was about time that the both of them got a break and I was in the mood for some serious fluff! Please review! xxxx


	16. Dispair

"So to make a memory eraser you need…?"  
"Aqua Fortis and…cut ginger root?"  
"Excellent!" Rae squealed, throwing her arms around Sirius' neck. Sirius wrapped his arms around her small waist in return and bent his head to plant soft kisses to her neck.  
"Not now! We still have to get through-"Rae began but Sirius slammed his lips into hers before she could finish, sprawling her across the common room sofa, his fingertips exploring the soft flesh under her shirt as he began to bite her bottom lip.  
"Sirius! What…if…someone…comes i-…comes i-…comes in!" Rae giggled between kisses.  
"Who cares?" Sirius smirked returning for another but Rae pressed her palm to his face and pushed him back with a loud chuckle.  
"I'm supposed to be helping you with potions!" She said and sat up straight again, "You want to pass your N.E.W.T's don't you?"  
"I dunno…I quite like being alone with you…late at night…just the two of us..." Sirius said waggling his eyebrows.  
"OK then how about this? I won't kiss you until you've passed this test." Rae smirked.  
"What?" Sirius gasped, "Do you realise what that would do to me? I'd die before I even got to take the exam!"  
"Well then you'd better pass on your first attempt hadn't you?" She grinned, "If you can barely survive before the exam, I'd hate to see how you'd cope for another few months if you fail."  
"This is a joke right?"  
"Nope." Rae grinned, waggling her eyebrows in return. Sirius dived forward for a kiss but Rae shoved a cushion between them before he could press his lips to hers and stuck her tongue out at him.  
"Are you serious?" Sirius whined but Rae just smiled and shoved a bunch of notes in his hands. Sirius threw the notes aside and began a second attempt, only to find that his lips only reached her neck.  
"Rae…" He whined and his kisses travelled higher but Rae just turned her face away from his. Suddenly James burst into the room and threw his quidditch robes onto the floor.  
"Have you been practicing all this time? It's been dark for ag-"Sirius said, but Rae nudged him hard in the chest and shook her head.  
"What?" Sirius mouthed.  
"Lily… She mouthed back as though he was being a complete and utter idiot. Sirius pulled a face that looked something like uh-oh and returned his attention to James.  
"James mate…you ok?" He asked gingerly.  
"No." James said sulkily, running his hands through his hair.  
"What's wrong?" Rae asked sympathetically and Sirius marvelled at her; how could she make something sound so persuasive and caring at the same time? Girls; they really were amazing. James swivelled round to face them, his facial features arranged into what looked like utter agony, and slumped down next to Rae.  
"So I go out to quidditch practice thinking that maybe Lily will actually talk to me this time after I stopped messing around. I thought…I thought when we kissed in spin the bottle it felt different to all those other times and I thought that maybe she'd changed her mind about me…" James began, his voice slowly becoming sadder with each word, "So I went out and normally Lily's there in the stalls with her friends, as you probably know Rae, and I look towards the stalls and she's not there."  
"So what happened ne-" Sirius said, but Rae nudged him again and he immediately shut up.  
"So…so I asked her friends where she was and…and they said that she got held up and that she was right behind them but she never came." James said, each word spilling from his lips faster and faster, "So I walked back to the changing rooms with everyone else when practice was over, when I heard Lily's voice around the back. So I went round to ask her what the hell had kept her when…"  
James stopped and swallowed hard before running a hand through his hair once more.  
"What happened?" Rae said softly, edging closer to James ready to comfort him.  
"I saw her kissing Snivellus…" He said, his voice breaking towards the end of the sentence.  
"What?" Sirius barked, standing up before Rae pulled him back down onto the sofa, glaring at him.  
"Are you sure that's what happened James?" Rae asked, returning a much softer gaze.  
"They were fucking sucking face." James said angrily, "His hands were all over her and hers were in his hair! What else could it have been, unless Snivellus suddenly became a cannibal?"  
"She kissed THAT?" Sirius said, clearly in shock, "Can she not _**see **_him? You can fry an egg on that boys hair!"  
"Yea well I can't help what Lily Evans finds attractive no matter how hard I try." James said, standing to leave the common room. Rae shot Sirius a look and stood to prevent James from leaving the room.  
"James you must have gotten it all wrong." She said tentatively, "Lily and Severus haven't spoken properly since the fifth year; since he called her Mudblood. Why should she pick now to-"  
"Why don't you just ask her?" James yelled, "You're close right? Maybe you can pull them apart for a few seconds!"  
James stormed up the stars to the boys' dormitories and Rae turned to face Sirius.  
"I think you should go talk to him, Sirius." She said quietly.  
"Me?"  
"He's your best friend!"  
"I don't know anything about Evans! What can I say to make him feel better?"  
"Be there for him!"  
"I…" Sirius began before he sighed and made his way towards the staircase. Rae smiled triumphantly and made her way towards the portrait hole.  
"Where are you going?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow.  
"I'm just going for a walk…"  
"A walk?"  
"A walk." She winked and disappeared through the portrait hole. Sirius shook his head and continued to proceed up the staircase to find his friend sitting cross legged on his bed.  
"Ok," Sirius said, "Answer me one question." James continued to stare blankly at the floor, unmoving on the bed and Sirius took a seat next to him.  
"You're James Potter, captain of the Griffindoor quidditch team, every girl in Hogwarts would love to go out with you. You were my biggest competition before I…well yea…why Lily Evans?"  
"You're Sirius Black, the best looking and possibly the funniest guy in the whole school. You could have anyone, and you did, why did you pick Rae out of all the others you messed round with?" James said, watching Sirius while he said it. Sirius blinked, completely caught off guard. Yes, James was his best friend and yes, Sirius told James everything, but this? Sirius didn't know how comfortable he felt with spilling his heart out about Rae to James, even if he did feel as though James would understand.  
"I…well, she's different to all the other girls I've been with," Sirius said slowly, rubbing the back of his neck, a little embarrassed, "She's funny and real and…everything she does makes me…happy. I-I can't explain it in words; it isn't enough and it sounds lousy but…but to me she's the most beautiful and perfect thing in the whole world. No other girl can…can make me feel…the way I do."  
"Well then mate, I don't think I need to answer your question." James said, returning his gaze to the floor, "There's just one difference; Rae isn't in love with what you could consider as your worst enemy."  
"Yea but how do you-"  
"Well wouldn't you be a little discouraged if you saw Rae kissing Snivellus?" James yelled, "How can you all find it so hard to believe? They were glued together for years; inseparable! Lily knew him before she knew she was a witch! Before she came here! Why wouldn't she want him? It makes sense! Why is it that everyone thinks I'm wrong?"  
"Prongs, they haven't spoken properly since fifth year like Rae said!"  
"She's NEVER spoken to me properly!" James bellowed, "Face it; she doesn't want me! Do you know how hard it is trying to get over someone when everyone's trying to convince you that you're wrong, that they really do feel how you want them to?"  
"James…"  
"What?" James said, trying to fight back the tears, "She wants Snivellus…I guess I've known that all along but…I just didn't want to admit it." James slumped back down onto his bed and buried his face in his hands. Sirius slowly reached out a hand and touched James' shoulder; he wasn't the best at this sort of stuff, Remus had always been the one to handle sensitive topics, Sirius just made jokes to cheer everyone up. It was then when he noticed James' shoulders trembling slightly.  
"Aww come on mate," Sirius said edging closer until he could put an arm around his shoulders, "Lily can't be the only one. Sure it's…it's bad now but it will get better…" Yes, it was a lame attempt at trying to cheer James up but Sirius had to stop him crying somehow; it made him feel useless and awkward.  
"Sirius it's been near enough six years," James whined through the tears that had managed to escape, "I just don't understand why she hates me so much."  
Sirius sighed as he did the only thing he could do by squeezing his friend tighter, his mind desperately trying to search for something deep and encouraging to say to his best friend.

_**Where the hell is Rae?**_


	17. The plan

Rae bounded up the staircase and into the Ravenclaw girls' dormitories. She crouched down onto her knees and bent down to look under the beds for a particular purple kitten.

"Spratz…" She sang, wiggling her finger to summon the kitten. Suddenly, a small purple mass leapt in front of her and began pawing at her hands.  
"There you are!" She said, tickling under his chin before gently taking the small soft body into her hands and pulling him out from under her bed. The kitten mewed and licked at her hands as she placed him onto her bed and pulled out her trunk.  
"Aha!" She said as she pulled out a little black collar and placed it round the Spratz's neck. Rae shoved the trunk back under the bed and took the kitten in her arms before she ran back to the Griffindoor common room. Oh yes, she had a plan alright.

Sirius continued to mutter bad jokes under his breath as James smiled weakly through his silent sobs and quickly wiped away each tear that managed to escape from under his eyelids. Sirius had always found it a bit awkward when James got upset about Lily, but Sirius had never seen James cry before; he wanted to do something but just didn't know what.  
"Sirius!" He heard a voice call from the bottom of the stairs, "Can I ask you something? It'll just be a sec…" Sirius gave James an apologetic smile before James chuckled and have a quick nod of his head.  
"I'll forgive you this once," He said with a smile, "It's a good thing I like your girlfriend."

"Then I'm very happy that you only seem to find red heads attractive," Sirius ginned as he descended the small winding staircase and smiled even wider as he heard James' laughter following him.

"So?" he asked when he saw Rae leaning against the wall, "Did you talk to Evans?"  
"Not yet," She said, shoving Spratz into his arms and fiddling with the collar around his neck.  
"Erm…do you really think it's the best time for me to cat-sit?" Sirius blinked and the cat rubbed its cheek affectionately against Sirius' chest. Rae took out her want and pointed it at Spratz's collar, whispering an incantation under her breath.  
"Good thing he likes you..." Rae smiled, "Or else I'll never be able to get this going."  
"Get what going?"  
Rae smiled mischievously and handed Sirius a ring.

"Well I'm very flattered Rae but I don't think I'm ready for such a commitment yet. Anyway…I don't know how I feel about _**YOU **_proposing and giving me a…very feminine ring." Sirius joked, earning a thump on the arm from Rae, "Bit insensitive about the whole Lily-James situation too really…"  
"Ok well, I'm sorry it's a bit girly but trust me, it'll all be worth it."  
"What's going on?"  
"Ok, look, I have to take Spratz now or he'll never sit still for me. Just make sure that the stone in the ring is out of its…socket thingy when it glows."  
"Socket thingy?" Sirius grinned.  
"Oh whatever it's called!" Rae blushed, "Just pick it out of its little hole or bed or…whatever. Just make sure James is with you when it glows."  
"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are when you blush?" Sirius said with a grin, leaning in so that their noses brushed.  
"No, I mean it, Sirius," Rae said, pushing him away with a false glare, "No kissing until you pass!"  
"I'll never reach the exam!" Sirius moaned.  
"Well…chew gum or something." She said, taking Spratz from his arms, "Remember, take the stone out when it glows. Byeee!" Sirius grumbled all the way back upstairs and resumed his place on the end of James' bed.  
"So what was that about?" James asked.  
"Honestly, mate…I haven't a clue."

Rae stepped out into the corridor once more and absentmindedly stroked the bundle of purple fur in her arms. She knew where Lily Evans would be, whether she would be alone was a different question. She hurried down the grand staircase and out of the entrance hall until she found herself in the school grounds. Spratz tried to wiggle free from her grip to join the groups of students having fun in the late summer air but she held him tighter and hurried off towards the lake.  
Almost instantly, Rae spotted a mass of fiery red hair glowing in the now dimming sunlight. Lily Evans and her usual gaggle of girls were sat by the lake. Her hair was tied in thick red plaits as she sat cross legged on the water's edge, plucking random blades of grass between her fingers. Unlike the other girls, Lily was sat alone, in silence and being completely unsociable; perfect. As casually as possible, Rae made her way over to Lily, trying to keep her pace steady whilst still trying to hurry towards her; she didn't want to attract any gossiper's attention.  
"Hi!" Rae beamed as she took a seat beside her. Lily blinked and turned her head to see Rae. After what seemed like hours of awkward silence, the corners of her mouth twitched in recognition and a small smile spread across her lips; her mind was obviously elsewhere.

_**Not dreaming about Severus I hope…**_

"Oh, hello." She said quietly, her smile spreading, "I erm…how's things? It's been really quiet without you around."  
"Oh erm…yea things have been pretty good." Rae said, keeping jolly so as not to attract attention, "It hasn't been that quiet though has it? Surely you must have found me annoying sometimes."

"I seriously doubt that." Lily smiled, "You're the only one I know who seconds my boredom with talk about makeup and hair all day."

"I guess…" Rae laughed.  
There was a pause as Rae craned her neck to see if anyone would notice their departure when she dragged Lily away and turned her attention back to her.  
"Erm…Lily can I talk to you in private for a sec?"Rae asked, her eyes flicking to the ever growing pairs of eyes that turned to see the newcomer.  
"Oh…" Lily blushed, "I…is it…? Yea…um…ok." Rae smiled as she took Lily's had with the one that wasn't clinging onto Spratz and pulled her over to the willow tree that was usually occupied by Sirius and co. The girls sat in the shadow of the large willow tree that loomed over them, throwing long and beautiful green curtains around them; it was the perfect place for a private conversation.  
"I know…I know what you're going to say." Lily said quietly as soon as they rested against the trunk.  
"You do?" Rae asked.

"It's…it's about what James saw…isn't it?"  
"Got it in one," Rae smiled sympathetically, tickling the cat's chin, her finger flipping the tiny switch on the bell of his collar, "He's…not taken it well shall we say."  
"It's…I…what's he said?" Lily asked.  
"That you didn't turn up to watch the Griffindoors practice like you usually do, and when he heard your voice he went to find out why you didn't show. Apparently you had a very good reason for missing practice…"  
"It wasn't like that." Lily said hurriedly, "He wasn't meant to…he wasn't supposed to see it. I didn't want him to see it…"  
"Well then, what really happened?" Rae asked, "Tell me everything…"

Sirius absentmindedly fiddled with the ring in his hand whilst James lay on his four-poster bed.  
"…I mean, he called her a Mudblood! I'd never call her that! Never! He wouldn't look twice at her if she wasn't as pretty as she is…" James said, his sad voice trailing off at the end of his sentence.  
"I know, I know," Sirius said sympathetically, "Just face it James; girls aren't meant to be understood."

"You seem to be doing a pretty fair job of it." James said sulkily

"Ha! Trust me, I don't understand half the things she does."  
"Care to elaborate on that, Padfoot?" James said with a grin.  
"Well for a start, I have no idea where she is or what she's doing now," Sirius said. He gave a small cough and shot James a sideward glance before he continued.  
"And erm…she's refusing to kiss me ever again until I pass my potions exam." He said quietly. James sat up almost instantly, his jaw almost touching the floor.

"What?" James said, suddenly bursting into fits of laughter, "You won't last a week!"  
"I lasted three months remember?"  
"Well yea, but that was when you didn't have the option. It was impossible to kiss her."  
"Not impossible…"  
"Well at least back then you didn't know what you were missing."  
"You know…shockingly, this isn't making it any easier." Sirius said, shooting James a sarcastic smile. Suddenly the stone in the band of the ring burned red and James nodded his head in its direction.  
"Sirius mate…why is there a glowing ring in your hand?" He said, slightly confused, edging away slightly.  
"Oh erm…Rae gave it to me." Sirius said, fumbling around with it.  
"You do know it's a girls ring right?"  
"Err…yea."  
"So…why did your girlfriend give you a girly ring and, more importantly, why is it glowing?"  
"Ok. I'm going to give you the best possible answer I can." Sirius said, finally plucking the stone out of the gold band, "I have no idea. But it's going to help apparently."  
"Help with what?"  
"Who knows mate." Suddenly the jewel started to expand in Sirius' hand until it formed a rather large square piece of what looked like glass. Abstract colours and shaped began to shift around on the glass until the picture became clearer and Lily Evans was clearly visible within the glass, a fuzzy purple frame rimming the edge. Her voice, as clear as a whistle, began to pour from the bed where the stone had been set and finally it clicked what Rae had been doing. The bell on Spratz's collar had been charmed into some kind of mini-camera. Sirius held the window like object in his hands for a moment longer, James leaning over his shoulder, his mouth once again almost reaching the floor.  
"Sirius…" James said quietly as he head Lily mention his name, "I'm not sure that I want to hear this."

"James, Rae said it would help."  
"How will it help if she starts talking about how much she's in love with Snivellus?" James said, his voice breaking a little.  
"But what if she doesn't? What if you've got it wrong?"

James sighed and sat back onto the bed, his face in his hands.  
"It's the only way you're going to find out, mate." Sirius said. James looked up at him through his fingers and sighed.

"I-I don't know if I could take it if she…" James said, not needing to finish that sentence for Sirius to understand.

"James," Sirius smiled, "Rae is never wrong…trust me." James grinned as Sirius pulled a face at the last two words and bit his lip.  
"Ok…" James said finally, "But if she-"  
"Shut up!" Sirius grinned, "She's about to say something!"


	18. The truth

Lily breathed a heavy sigh and ran her fingers through her red hair, pulling a few strands free from their plaits. An absentminded smile touched her lips as it reminded her of James' little habit and how much more frequent it got in her presence. How it made her smile to think of how much effort he went to just to impress her. How it made her insides writhe with pleasure every time, even when she denied it. Rae tickled Spratz under the chin to keep him still, careful as to avoid the mini camera attached to his collar.

"Ok," Lily said quietly, "I…I need to explain everything, right from the beginning." Lily bit her bottom lip, still unsure on where to start and continued.  
"I knew Severus before I even knew I was a witch, in fact, it was Severus who pointed it out to me. When we first met James he was horrible; he picked on him when he didn't even know him, just because Severus was hoping to be a Slytherin. I didn't know what that meant…until now. At the time, there was no question about it; I had to stick by Severus, he was like my brother, my best friend in the whole world…for a while it even felt like he was my world." Lily swallowed hard and Rae edged closer to her, putting her free arm around her waist. Lily smiled a little more cheerfully and continued.  
"I never really hated James, I just found him…irritating; back then he'd just make snide little comments that we'd brush aside and think nothing else of it. It was in third year when everything changed. It was then when I noticed that James didn't pull my hair in potions anymore. It was then when I noticed that the little comments about me had stopped. It was then when I noticed James starring at me from time to time and looking away as if nothing had happened. It was then when the rumours started and Severus got…jealous.

He pulled me aside one day to try and get it through to me that James liked me and I didn't believe him. I just laughed, and he got it wrong and thought that I liked him back. Then one day Slughorn asked me and James to stay behind to clear up after potions and James told me that the rumours were true, that he liked me. I was so shocked and…creeped out at the fact that someone who had picked on my best friend actually liked me that way. Not only that, but I was angry with him for everything he had said to Severus and I wanted to get back at him, so I turned him down flat. Little did I know that he'd be following me for the rest of my life at Hogwarts, asking me the same question every day.

It was then when Severus turned…well…he changed. Sure James picked on him from time to time but Severus always took it one step further, scribbling little notes in that potions book of his and testing them out on James. He began to hang round with the Slytherins more and accused me of going against him just because he was a Slytherin, when in truth, I just hated what he was turning in to.

I guess…in truth…I had begun to notice James more after her asked me out and it was so hard for me not to like him back, but Severus was still my friend and I wanted him to be the old Severus again; that would never happen if I gave into James. Then…it was that summer in fifth year and he called…he called me M-mudblood." Lily paused and chewed on her lip, steadying herself; she wouldn't cry over this again. Rae rested her head on Lily's shoulder and squeezed her tighter. Lily let out a jagged breath and continued.

"I didn't know what to do. I guess I realised that that was it, the end of our friendship. And then…James stood up for me. That confused me even more; it was like they had switched bodies or something. I was still angry at James, it felt like it was all his fault that Severus had changed, and then, I realised that as Severus had gotten worse, James had stopped.

After I'd stormed off I thought about what had happened and found that maybe…I did like James. I guess for the rest of that year I was in denial; it was too weird to think that I didn't have Sev any more and that I was starting to like the boy I had turned down so many times, the boy I had come so close to hating. It was in sixth year when I began to accept that I did like James, but James had become quieter; he stopped asking me out and only when provoked would he argue with Severus. I didn't know whether he still…wanted me after all of that."  
"Are you kidding?" Rae laughed, "Of course he did! I thought it was obvious. He wanted you to _**think **_that he's gotten over you so that he could actually _**try**_ to get over you."  
"It was when the Slytherins started picking on you when I realised that there was still something there." Lily said, furrowing her eyebrows, "He got so upset with me when he found out that I still wanted Severus in my life; he got completely the wrong idea. And then at spin the bottle when we…kissed, there was so much tension."  
"And…not just on his behalf?" Rae asked with a raised eyebrow.  
"Well it was nothing compared to yours and Sirius' kiss." Lily chuckled, causing Rae to blush, "But…I…" Lily grinned sheepishly and Rae joined in.  
"Go on…" Rae grinned and Lily blushed.  
"I…I wanted the bottle to land on me. I wanted to kiss James, and when we did, I just wanted to go crazy and it felt like he did too, but I knew that it was because of me, that he didn't."  
"Well then, what about your kiss with Severus?" Rae asked.

"Well…I did want Severus back in my life, so when he asked him to meet me today I couldn't say no."  
"You say…you _**did**_ want him back in your life?" Rae asked with a raised eyebrow.  
"After we met and he apologized, he was still so wound up with getting one up on James, that when he heard his voice, he pulled me in for a kiss. I knew that Severus…liked me that way, of course I did, but I knew that the kiss was just to spite James by the way looked at him when he pulled me closer. The only reason he really seemed to want me was to make James jealous; our friendship had turned into a method of pushing James to the edge. It was then when I realized that my Severus was well and truly gone and that this one was not one I wanted anywhere near me."  
"So…what about James?"

"Well, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how wrong I was about him. That that cocky little thirteen-year-old boy that had teased me, that admitted that he liked me was nervous, vulnerable. All James ever did was put on an act to impress me and it just pushed me away, but now that it's over, now that he seems to have given up, I see who he really is. And the truth is, I think I might be…in love with him."

"I knew it!" Rae beamed, causing Lily to laugh loudly, "So, you're sure you're _**in love**_ with him?"

"Well, if it's just a crush do you really spend all your time thinking about them? Do you love every single thing they do from rustling their already messy hair to the way that they smile? Do you want to be with them all the time? Do you just want to be able to touch them no matter how weird or incredibly inconvenient it would be?"  
Rae laughed and Lily found herself blushing.  
"Maybe I'm just obsessed…" She grinned sheepishly and Rae shook her head.

"No, it's not weird at all; it's perfectly normal." Rae smiled, "So…why don't you just tell him?"  
"He wouldn't listen to me after what he saw." Lily said miserably, "And anyway…I'd probably just seize up. I've said no to him so many times, embarrassed him, why should he say yes to me now?"  
"Because he's crazy about you." Rae said, "And because, now, you don't have to."  
"What do you mean?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ok, before you go mental at me, let me explain something," Rae said, biting her lip, "I knew that after I saw James it would take a long time before one of you cracked and spoke to each other again, and I just couldn't wait that long; you two are so stupidly stubborn."

"So…?" Lily asked after a short pause.

"So I decided to take matters into my own hands and…put a mini camera on Spratz's collar so that when you told me how you really felt, James would know everything too…straight from the heart." Rae said timidly, wincing as Lily's face got paler and paler with every word, "He was so upset Lily, you should have seen him. He was so confused and…and…"

"Lily?" Rae asked after Lily gave no reply.

"Rae…I think you better run…" Lily said quietly, "Because I am going to kill you."


	19. Together

The shapes on the glass-like object in Sirius' hand faded, and it began to shrink back into a small jewel as Rae took off, half screaming, half laughing. James knelt on the bed, frozen over Sirius' shoulder as he watched him replace the jewel back into the gold band of the ring, stunned.

Lily Evans liked him back…no, Lily Evans _**loved**_ him back. James jumped off of the bed and pulled out his trunk.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked.

"Padfoot, do you really think I'm going to look like this when I snog the face off the girl of my dreams?" James laughed, indicating the muddy clothes which he had worn underneath his Quidditch robes. Sirius laughed as James frantically pulled out a clean pair of robes and ran to the mirror, rustling his already messy hair.

"You're not seriously thinking of going out with the girl who has, probably by now, murdered my girlfriend?" Sirius grinned.

"Padfoot mate, If Lily stuck your girlfriend on a spit roast and ate her I'd still go out with her." James chuckled. Sirius laughed as James disappeared down the stairs.  
"Oi Prongs wait up!" He said, jumping off the bed, "I wanna make sure Rae's still alive first!"

***

Rae giggled as she darted round the corner, back into the castle; she had lost Lily ages ago when she had cursed and run back to the lake for her bag. Rae hurried up the moving staircase and down the corridor until the portrait of the fat lady was visible. Barely able to speak from running so fast, she breathed the password with the little breath she had left and crawled through the portrait hole, only to run straight into James.

Rae fell into a crumpled heap on the floor, Spratz mewing angrily and jumping out of her arms. James grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a tight squeeze.

"I knew you were brilliant from the moment I met you!" He said, crushing her ribs.  
"That's real great James but maybe you should save all this romance for Lily?" Rae chuckled.

"Oi, paws off the goods!" Sirius said from behind James, his arms folded and his eyes narrowed.

"Charming!" Rae said, sticking her tongue out when James eventually let go.

"You know if he wasn't here, I would actually kiss you." James whispered loudly so that Sirius could actually hear what he said.

"Do that and_** I**_ will put _**you **_on a spit roast and eat you." Sirius snarled, although he grinned just the same, resulting in Rae's look of utter confusion.

"Anyway," James said, laughing slightly at Sirius' remark, "I'm off to win the hand of one fair maiden." With a low bow James departed leaving Sirius and Rae alone in the Griffindoor common room.

"Do you realise how smug he's going to be after that now?" Sirius said softly into Rae's ear, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"I'd rather a smug James that a chronically depressed James." Rae said with a smile, "And anyway, Lily's sure to whip him into shape. I mean, look how tame you are now after I became your chain and ball."  
"Oh I wouldn't say that…" Sirius smirked, giving her a hard shove so that she fell onto the crimson sofa. Sirius wiggled his eyebrows and pulled her legs so that she was lying across the sofa and began to crawl over her.

"Don't even think about it." Rae said as Sirius' lips got closer and closer.

"I just thought you deserved a kiss after your incredible hard work today." He smirked, their noses brushing.

"Shame the same can't be said for you" Rae smiled, grabbing a book from the side table next to the sofa and shoving it between them. Sirius groaned and went limp with defeat lying flat out on top of Rae, his face in her neck.  
"Fine," He mumbled, taking the book from her sulkily. Rae smiled and took out her own book, returning to the page they had previously been studying.

"So…what makes a memory eraser again?"

***

James swallowed hard as he rounded the corner into the entrance hall. A few minutes ago he had been booming with confidence, but all of a sudden he had become extremely nervous. He had become so accustomed to the fact that Lily Evans would never accept him, that he had never really imagined what he'd say to her when the time came for them to reveal their true feelings for each other; it made him feel a bit awkward to be perfectly honest, asking her out had only taken six words. James bit his lip as he ran over what he could possibly say to her in his head, so much so that he began to mumble inaudible phrases out loud.

"Lily…I just…now I know how you…do you reckon…?"

Eventually James just stopped dead and groaned before turning to face the wall, banging his forehead against it a few times.

_**Come on James, why did you have to pick now to get all nervous? You must have asked her out a million times! Come o-**_

"James?"  
James spun round to face a very stunned looking Lily Evans. A few strands of her fiery red hair had escaped from their plaits, bent into fly away, loose curls which fell past her emerald green eyes, coming to rest on her pale face. She flushed a rosy pink as his eyes came to rest on hers, making her even more beautiful than she already was.

"Did…did you hear what I-"  
"Yes." James said quickly, not meaning to interrupt her; he was just so nervous.

"Oh…" Lily said quietly, turning scarlet. The two stood in silence for a while, trying desperately not to look at each other.

"So, what does it mean?" James said suddenly.

"I-I don't know…"  
"You don't know?"  
"Well…it's all so new to me."  
"But you said you liked me in 6th year."  
"Well it's new being nice to each other; it feels a little odd."  
"Not if you've wanted it for ages." James said suddenly and Lily looked up at him, causing him to blush a little. Lily gave a small smile; she liked this side of James, the real side. She walked forward a little and James pushed himself off of the wall.

"Did you really mean it?" He asked.

"Did I really mean what?" She said her voice barely above a whisper.

"When you said that…you-you think you're in love with me." James said, his voice at the same volume, swallowing hard.

"No." She said lowering her eyes and James' heart sank horribly.

"O-oh I-"  
"I didn't mean it because…I _**know**_ I'm in love with you." She said with a timid smile.

"Oh!" James said, a grin spreading across his own face.

The two gave a nervous laugh and absentmindedly moved closer to each other, only realising when their faces were inches apart. The two suddenly fell quiet with only the sound of their breathing to break the silence. James took a fly-away strand of her hair and twiddled it between his fingers, his eyes never leaving hers. His hand suddenly moved to brush the back of his fingers across her cheekbone, until his fingertips brushed against her lips. Her mouth parted slightly beneath them before she kissed them softly. Eventually, James retrieved them and moved closer to her, their noses brushing against each other.

"I love you Lily Evans." James whispered before he pressed his mouth to hers. Instantly she threw her arms up and entangled her fingers into his messy black hair. He groaned as their mouths opened and their tongues slid together. He wrapped his arms around her waist and fiercely pulled her closer to him, forcing a whimper to escape her throat. After what seemed like hours, they finally pulled apart and all the confidence James once had came flooding back; he knew exactly what to say to her.

"Lily I'm sorry I was such an idiot; I understand why you never wanted me back then. I was full of myself, I admit that and I'm sorry. I never meant to upset you; I just couldn't understand how you could love a bloke like Snive-Severus."  
"I never loved him like that James. Don't you know that?"  
"I do now, but anyway, I'm sorry." James brushed the back of his fingers across her cheekbone once more, his eyes suddenly smouldering.

"I dream of you all the time. I never stop thinking about you. I used to have days when I'd just fall into a slump knowing that you'd never love me back. I've never wanted anything as much as I want you. You're funny and smart and you always know how to win every single bloody fight." James said, causing Lily to laugh a little, "And…and you are, without a doubt, the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." Lily blushed and rested her head against James' chest, feeling the warmth of him as he wrapped his arms around her. She wanted to stay like that forever.

"And…I'm sorry that I let someone blind me into thinking that you were an utter prat." Lily grinned, snuggling up against his chest, "You can't fool me Potter; I know what's hidden beneath that arrogant exterior."

James chuckled and pressed his lips to hers once more, this time knotting is fingers in her soft flaming red hair. Instantly her mouth opened and their tongues slid together once more. Heads spinning, they pulled apart and linked fingers, making their way to the willow tree where they could get some privacy.


	20. The results OR The End

Rae handed her test paper to Professor Slughorn as he strolled merrily down her aisle, giving a confident smile to 'one of his best students' as he took it. She looked ahead of her at the Aisle of 'B's until she spotted Sirius giving Lily one of his cheesy grins. Slightly relieved, she turned her attention to Remus who shot her a raised eyebrow as oppose to a 'How did you find it?'

Rae gave him a thumbs up and a wink before he turned his attention to the 'P' aisle, but James was too busy staring at Lily across the hall to notice him. Finally the bell rung and a swarm of relieved students piled out of the Great Hall. Rae waited anxiously at the door until Sirius emerged from the crowd with James, Remus and Peter.

"How did you do?" She asked, bounding up to him.

"I think it went pretty well actually." James smiled, catching Lily as she jumped into his arms.

"Not you." Rae sighed, "But I'm glad anyway."

"I don't know…I think it went alright." Sirius said, "I've forgotten what was even in the test; I've put the whole horrible experience behind me."

"Let's hope it wasn't too horrible." Rae said, their fingers linking together.

***

"They're here!" Remus yelped, bounding down the staircase. It was summer and Sirius, Rae, Lily, Remus and Peter had decided to spend it at James' house; much to the pleasure of Mrs Potter who doted on all of them. The other five came bounding down the stairs after him scrambling to open the window.

"I will never know how that man knows where we all are." Sirius said in awe as six owls flew in through the window, each carrying an envelope.

"Oooh which one's mine?" Lily yelped, examining all envelopes until she found one with her name on and untied it from the owl. Rae found her own envelope and Sirius' next to it. Hurriedly she ran over to him and shoved his envelope in his hand.

"Open it!" She beamed, jumping up and down, "Come on! I'm so excited!"  
"I knew it." Sirius grinned.

"Knew what?"  
"I knew it was driving you crazy not kissing me." Sirius smirked.

"What?" Rae blushed, "That's not the reason at all!"  
"Sure it's not." James grinned from the top of his report card.

"All good then?" Remus asked when he saw James' expression.

"An O in DADA and Transfiguration, an A in potions and an E in everything else." James grinned.

"I'm so proud of you!" James' mother called from the doorway, grabbing hold of him and pulling him into a rib-crushing hug.

"What about you?" James breathed once she had left the room, blubbering, to break out the champagne.  
"Oh…well I…." Remus blushed.

"He got an O in everything apart from potions and divination in which he got an E." Lily beamed, looking over his shoulder before he could say anything.

"Wow that's fantastic!" Rae beamed, throwing her arms around him, causing him to blush. Sirius cleared his throat and this time Lily jumped in for a hug.  
"Well done mate!" James grinned.

"Yea that's great!" Sirius said as he wrapped an arm around Rae's waist.

Rae turned to press against him as Peter read out his results.

"I think you're a very jealous man Mr Black." Rae teased, on her tiptoes so that her lips brushed against his neck.

"Huh? I'm not jealous. Who would I be jealous of?" Sirius said, the words spilling out a little too fast. Rae laughed and brushed her lips against his neck once more, making Sirius shudder.

"I'm…I'm just worried…" Sirius whispered.

"About what, you prat?" Rae chuckled, "I'm not going to cheat on you!"  
"No…it's-it's not that." Sirius said, colour rising a little in his cheeks.

"Are you blushing?" Rae giggled, squeezing him tighter.

"No!" Sirius said, burying his face in her hair so that she couldn't see.

"What are you so nervous about?" She said, snuggling up to his chest.

"What if…what if I've failed?" Sirius said sadly, "Then you won't kiss me until I re-take it so I can study harder and who wants a boyfriend they can't kiss? You might…you might go looking for someone else…"  
"What?" Rae said incredulously, "Do you really think that just because I can't kiss you that I won't love you anymore?"  
"I-I dunno…I miss-miss kissing you." Sirius said quietly, "Sure the necks fine, but I miss kissing you properly."

"Well…I guess coffee breaks will be acceptable." Rae said, pecking him on the cheek, "Now _**please **_open the envelope? I'm nervous enough!"

"What about your results?" Sirius asked.  
Rae groaned and tore her envelope open.

"What did you get?" Sirius asked.

"An O in potions, Transfiguration, DADA and Charms and an E in everything else." She smiled.

"Wow, that's great!" Sirius smiled, picking her up and swinging her in circles before kissing her neck affectionately.

"Now open yours!" Rae beamed, jumping up and down again.

With his hands shaking slightly, Sirius tore open his envelope. Rae watched as his eyes widened and narrowed, the more he read.

"I-I don't believe it." Sirius said quietly, "I-I thought…"

Rae's heart sank and she wrapped her arms around him.

"Well it's not…all bad. I mean you can always re-take. I'm not going to-"

"I got an O." Sirius beamed, "I got an O in potions!"  
"What?" Rae squealed.

"And an O in Transfiguration! The rest are E's!"

As quick as a flash she pushed his arms out of the way and pulled on his shirt, dragging him down to her level, pressing her lips fiercely against his.

Instantly their mouths opened against each other and their tongues slid together. Sirius groaned and threaded his fingers through her hair, and pulled her closer to him. Their kissing became fiercer as they pulled on each other in an attempt to pull each other closer than they already were. Sirius lifted her shirt a little and brushed his fingertips against the soft skin of her waist. He missed doing that; he missed everything. He missed the softness of her skin, the taste of her lips, the way her warm body felt against his, how it felt to run his fingers through her hair; nothing beat that.

"Well…I guess that means Sirius passed," James chuckled as Sirius slammed Rae against the wall. The group cheered and Sirius and Rae had to laugh, forcing them to break apart.

"He got an O…" Rae panted, her grin spread all the way across her face and the group cheered again.

"I'm so proud of you all!" James' mum cried from the doorway, shortly followed by James' dad who was carrying a bottle of champagne. She hurried over to James and gave him a tight squeeze before moving on to Lily, then Remus, then Peter, then Sirius, then Rae. James' dad followed shortly after, handing them a glass as soon as his wife let go of them.

"A toast to your O.W.L results; may your N.E.W.T's be just as successful! And a toast to James and Lily, who finally overcame their stubbornness and GAVE US ALL A BREAK!" He called, causing the room to burst into laughter and wolf whistles. James leant over and kissed Lily, sloshing champagne all over himself.

"And a toast to Sirius and Rae!" He called out once more, "The girl who finally tied the boy down. Maybe now you've stuck to one, those crabs will finally go away, Sirius." The room burst into laughter and cheers once more as James' mother slapped her husband on the arm and they all took a swig from their champagne glasses. As soon as he had drained the bottom of his glass, Sirius grabbed hold of Rae's wrist and pulled her out of the back door.

"Where are you going?" James called out after them.

"James, I've been going a few months without a good snog now, I've got a lot of catching up to do!" Sirius called back, pulling a giggling Rae into the sunset flooding James' back garden.

_**Author's note: THE END! I hope you liked it! I didn't know if I could write a Sirius story so I hope it turned out ok. Thanks for the TONNES of reviews I've been getting. I LOVE them! THANKYOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING AND FOLLOWING THIS STORY!**_


	21. Author's notice please read

Ok, first of all, I've just noticed that for some reason, I've put O.W.L's in the last chapter instead of N.E.W.T's so sorry for any confusion and if I've put it in any of the other chapters. The story is actually set in their 7th year.

Second, thanks for all the enthusiasm and as for all the sequel requests, yes, I will do one seeing as I've had SOOOOOOO much encouragement from all of you! XD

THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS AND FOR FOLLOWING MY STORY! I hope you follow the sequel with as much interest as you have this one! I'll write it after I've finished my Lily and James story which I will write next! XD THNAKYOU AGAIN! XXXXX


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